COVID-19 on campus: October update

BY ANDREW BOSTOM

Update as of October 5 on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths at 50 American universities since August: despite ~70,000 positive tests, there have been few hospitalizations and zero reported deaths*.

University	Reported C19+,“Cases” (N)*	ReportedHospitalizations (N)**	Reported C19Deaths (N)***
(1) U of Alabama sys	2861	0	0
(2) U of Georgia	3363	0	0
(3) U of Kentucky	2005	0	0
(4) Ohio State U	2987	0	0
(5) U of Dayton	1284	0	0
(6) Miami U of OH	1614	0	0
(7) Illinois State U	1358	0	0
(8) U of Iowa	2005	0	0
(9) Missouri State U	1017	0	0
(10) U of Kansas	1000	0	0
(11) Kansas State U	811	0	0
(12) Penn State U	2426	0	0
(13) U of Wisconsin	2967	1	0
(14) U of Miami	474	0	0
(15) U of S Carolina	2367	0	0
(16) U of Arizona	2338	0	0
(17) Notre Dame U	752	0	0
(18) Temple University	488	0	0
(19) James Madison U	1522	0	0
(20) Texas Tech U	1544	0	0
(21) U of Texas	1015	0	0
(22) Texas Christian U	1161	0	0
(23) Texas A & M U (incl staff)	1613	0	0
(24) U of Illinois	2566	1	0
(25) Iowa State U	1078	0	0
(26) East Carolina U	1240	0	0
(27) U of N Carolina	1146	0	0
(28) N Carolina State U	1089	0	0
(29) Auburn U	1938	0	0
(30) Arizona State U	1852	0	0
(31) San Diego State U	1106	1	0
(32) Ball State U	1015	0	0
(33) U of N. Dakota	771	0	0
(34) U of Cent Florida	1074	0	0
(35) U of Florida	853	0	0
(36) Oklahoma State U	1158	0	0
(37) SUNY-Oneonta	703	0	0
(38) U of Missouri	1630	0	0
(39) SUNY-Buffalo	444	0	0
(40) U of Michigan	573	0	0
(41) Michigan St (incl staff)	1395	0	0
(42) U of Nebraska (incl staff)	826	0	0
(43) U of Tenn sys	779	0	0
(44) Florida St U	1448	0	0
(45) Indiana U (incl staff)	1719	0	0
(46) U of Arkansas (incl staff)	1611	0	0
(47) Louisiana St U	947	0	0
(48) U of Louisville	543	0	0
(49) Arkansas St U (incl staff)	540	0	0
(50) Liberty U	428	0	0
Totals (N)	69,444	3**	0

*As of data accessed 10/5/20; ostensibly by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification & detection of C19 viral RNA, or C19 nucleocapsid protein antigen detection by immunofluorescent assay(s);

**As originally noted here: https://twitter.com/andrewbostom/status/1302438825063591936; https://bit.ly/3mHD3Be; “Kansas college student hospitalized with suspected case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome”, but the KS college was unidentified; However 1 of the now 1106 C19+ students at SDSU was hospitalized “1st SDSU Student Among COVID-19 Surge Hospitalized as Cases Reach 440.” https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/1st-sdsu-student-among-covid-19-surge-hospitalized-as-cases-reach-440/2402332/; 1 U-Wisc-Madison student was hospitalized out of 2967 C19+ https://wkow.com/2020/09/16/first-known-uw-madison-student-hospitalized-with-covid-19/ & 1 U Illinois hospitalization out of 2566 C19+ https://www.idsnews.com/article/2020/09/iu-first-coronavirus-hospitalization-flu-isolations; Links to campus C19 dashboards follow, along with local news items. Daily extensive google searches for the past 5-weeks, through moments before this posting, in addition to scanning of the C19 dashboards themselves revealed zero reported C19 deaths, and one hospitalization of a San Diego State University student who apparently acquired their C19 infection off campus. As cited in a note accompanying the Table, one other student from an unidentified college in Kansas was hospitalized in mid-to late August as reported the by the Governor of Kansas. This student was ostensibly hospitalized with a C19-related inflammatory syndrome (associated with myriad other viruses including common cold causing coronaviruses https://bit.ly/2DF8fzn:“Concurrent Respiratory Viruses and Kawasaki Disease”, and associated typically with a self-limited, benign outcome in C19: https://bit.ly/3jWvYKP: “COVID-19 and Kawasaki Like Disease: The Known-Known, the Unknown-Known and the Unknown-Unknown”). However, a severe C19 case has apparently occurred in an obese, asthmatic student attending Austin College, in Texas https://www.austincollege.edu/covid-dashboard/ who required ICU hospitalization, as reported 9/18/20: “AUSTIN COLLEGE STUDENT HOSPITALIZED WITH COVID” https://www.kten.com/clip/15134687/austin-college-student-hospitalized-with-covid ; https://www.kxii.com/video/2020/09/19/austin-college-student-hospitalized-with-covid-/

*** The tragic deaths of Jamain Stephens, Jr. from the Univ of California, PA apparently by a pulmonary embolus https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/sports/ncaafootball/college-football-death-jamain-stephens.html , and Appalachian St U student Chad Dorrill who died from rapidly progressive paralysis (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/college-student-dies-covid.html despite purely lay reports, have NOT in fact been confirmed as C19 deaths by medical caretakers and/or medical examiners. The autopsy findings on neither Mr. Stephens nor Mr. Dorrill for example have been released, and the Chairman of Neurology at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem commented on the Dorrill case: “We are doing everything to figure out why this happened.”

2/ refs U Alabama sys https://www.wvtm13.com/article/ua-doctor-confident-in-covid-19-protocols-at-tuscaloosa-campus/33908526; https://uasystem.edu/covid-19-dashboard/

3/ refs U Georgia https://news.uga.edu/uga-reports-covid-19-cases-for-first-full-week-of-class/; https://uhs.uga.edu/healthtopics/covid-19-health-and-exposure-updates; https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/university-of-georgia-reports-70percent-decline-of-positive-covid-19-tests-on-campus/ar-BB196PsN

4/ refs U Kentucky https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/09/02/university-kentucky-covid-19-tests-find-hundreds-cases/3449300001/; https://www.uky.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-data-dashboard?_ga=2.243267847.467492369.1599132175-2125327208.1599132175

5/ refs Ohio State U https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200903/ohio-state-reports-882–positive-coronavirus-tests-among-students; https://safeandhealthy.osu.edu/dashboard

6/ refs U of Dayton https://udayton.edu/coronavirus/case_dashboard.php;

UD has largest campus COVID-19 outbreak in Ohio; among largest in Midwest

6a/ refs for Miami U of Ohio https://miamioh.edu/healthy-together/status-updates/dashboard/

7/ refs for Illinois State https://coronavirus.illinoisstate.edu/dashboard/;

https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYWIwOWM3MjctM2Y2Mi00NjNhLTk1YjYtMzI0YmJhMWU2NzI4IiwidCI6IjA4NWY5ODNhLTBiNjktNDI3MC1iNzFkLTEwNjk1MDc2YmFmZSIsImMiOjN9

8/refs for Missouri State https://www.missouristate.edu/Coronavirus/confirmed-cases.htm; https://www.wglt.org/post/how-isu-faring-covid-19-compared-other-midwest-college-towns#stream/0

9/ refs U of Iowa: https://coronavirus.uiowa.edu/covid-19-numbers;

https://coronavirus.uiowa.edu/news/2020/08/campus-update-how-covid-19-spreads-new-ventilation-practices-number-self-reported ; https://dailyiowan.com/2020/09/07/university-of-iowa-reporters-175-new-covid-19-cases/

10/ refs U of Kansas: https://protect.ku.edu/sites/protect/files/documents/Dashboard/COVID-19_Dashboard_Aug1toSept30.pdf ; https://protect.ku.edu/covid-19-test-reporting;

https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article245476225.html

11/ ref K State: https://www.k-state.edu/covid-19/communities/

12/ refs Penn State: https://virusinfo.psu.edu/covid-19-dashboard;

https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMDFhMzI2YzQtNmQwNC00YjgzLWFjMzAtZmFlNGQyZGZiZGJhIiwidCI6IjdjZjQ4ZDQ1LTNkZGItNDM4OS1hOWMxLWMxMTU1MjZlYjUyZSIsImMiOjF9

https://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/penn-state/article245492075.html?utm_source=pushly&intcid=pushly_657569 ; https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMzM0ZDQyNTMtNTUxYS00ODEzLTk4YzAtZTc4ZjMyNGQ4YjJkIiwidCI6IjdjZjQ4ZDQ1LTNkZGItNDM4OS1hOWMxLWMxMTU1MjZlYjUyZSIsImMiOjF9

13/ ref U Wisc https://smartrestart.wisc.edu/dashboard/

14/ ref U Miami: https://coronavirus.miami.edu/dashboard/index.html

15/ refs U of S. Carolina: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/515020-university-of-south-carolina-reports-over-1000-students-tested; https://www.sc.edu/safety/coronavirus/dashboard/index.php

https://www.sc.edu/safety/coronavirus/dashboard/index.php “No students have required hospitalization since classes for the fall semester began last month” https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/515020-university-of-south-carolina-reports-over-1000-students-tested

16/ refs U of Arizona https://covid19.arizona.edu/dashboard; https://news.arizona.edu/story/uarizona-ramp-covid-19-testing;

https://covid19.arizona.edu/updates?_ga=2.45505060.1412322526.1599492858-430809476.1599492858

17/ refs Notre Dame C19: https://here.nd.edu/our-approach/dashboard/; https://www.wndu.com/2020/09/07/notre-dame-reports-6-more-coronavirus-cases/; https://www.southbendtribune.com/coronavirus/notre-dame-covid-infections-continue-to-climb-now-at-222-cases/article_b84d673a-e22f-11ea-b2f9-c755bbb0b1ff.html; https://www.ndinsider.com//www.ndinsider.com/football/zero-notre-dame-football-players-test-positive-for-covid-19-in-newest-update/article_4543f180-f726-5718-a939-ab2706d9a8b2.html

18/ refs Temple U: https://www.temple.edu/life-temple/health-wellness/covid-19-keeping-our-community-safe-healthy/university-communication/active-covid-19-cases-temple-university#definition-2; https://temple-news.com/protect-temple-communitys-safety/

19/ James Madison: since July 1^st https://www.jmu.edu/stop-the-spread/dashboard.shtml ; According to JMU spokesperson Caitlyn Read, there have been no hospitalizations stemming from the positive cases of students and staff. https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/2020/08/31/jmu-covid-19-numbers-continue-climb-past-350-cases-after-students-return-classes/5678055002/

20/ refs Texas Tech U: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/emergency/coronavirus/; https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/08/texas-universities-coronavirus-parties/

21/ refs U of Texas: https://coronavirus.utexas.edu/ut-austin-covid-19-dashboard; https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/08/texas-universities-coronavirus-parties/