Interim Senior Vice President of University Relations Samuel Garrison shares university updates with the community and details USC’s current health protocols.
Category: Community
Latest Updates for Community
Sarah Van Orman, USC’s Chief Health Officer for USC Student Health, shares recent COVID-19 case numbers and reminds students to follow health guidelines.
Sarah Van Orman, USC’s Chief Health Officer for USC Student Health, shares important information regarding USC’s COVID-19 contact tracing process.
We recently received information about a confirmed case of COVID-19 from an Auxiliary Services employee who worked in the central kitchen area for McKay’s and Rosso’s. The last dates the individual worked shifts were July 13 and 14. Employees with possible exposure were contacted and received instructions for self-monitoring. Patrons, who based on our records, visited Rosso’s on July 13 and 14 are being notified.
In the summer, our on-premise and near-premise campus population is much smaller than during the fall and spring semesters. However, we are seeing some worrisome trends emerge from this smaller population that our community should take into consideration. Over the last two weeks, the COVID-19 test positivity rate increased from 5% to 9% among students.
In the past few days, a cluster of 15 positive cases of COVID-19 among houses located on 28th Street has been identified and is being evaluated. Patients with confirmed positive tests are in self-isolation at home or are in the process of being privately transported to isolation. We have seen a rapid acceleration in community spread in the last three weeks. The current positivity rate for L.A. County is 11%, which is up from 5% about three weeks ago.
As we begin a phased approach toward resuming some on-campus activities, Provost Charles Zukoski shares the progress we have made in a number of areas.
President Folt shares some of the key Project Restart decisions that the university has made so far. While we still have many details to work out, we are planning for an in-person fall semester for students beginning on Aug. 17, 2020. This is a week earlier than originally scheduled.
We established Project Restart, which is comprised of working groups involving over 100 faculty, staff, and students. These teams are charged with envisioning how we can return each specific element of university life to on-campus operations. The teams are planning in great detail, considering contingencies, and preparing us to be both nimble and thorough in our approach.
USC Student Health is conducting a study to estimate the percentage of USC students who have developed antibodies (a marker of exposure) to the virus that causes COVID-19. This study may help us learn more about infection rates of COVID-19 on the USC campus and among USC students and help the university prepare for the physical re-opening of the University Park Campus.