CMU Coronavirus cases remain steady at 31
COVID-19 warning signs sit in Brooks Hall on Sept. 4.
New COVID-19 cases remain steady week to week.
Last week, 31 new cases were reported at Central Michigan University according to the university's Fired Up For Fall webpage. There were 30 the week prior.
There have been 359 reported cases among CMU’s population since June 15. There are 17 active cases on campus.
According to CMU's Health and Safety Protocols, students, faculty and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must quarantine themselves for 10 days since symptoms first appeared.
CMU Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer John Veilleux said there may appear to be a discrepancy between active cases and cases reported in the past 10 days since much of the data is out of date. The university receives many positive results after students complete their isolation.
For example, he said a test result came back recently from a student who went back home to isolate and got a positive test in their home county. This test did not get back to the Central Michigan District Health Department for about 30 days, he said.
Another example would be with athletes, Veilleux said. They are given rapid-response tests and if they test positive, they are isolated. However, these tests are not as accurate as PCR tests, which take longer to complete and reported to the county. It is not uncommon for the university to receive a test result after an athlete finishes their isolation, he said.
Veilleux said these are just some of the variables that cause CMU to receive test results after an isolation period.
"Almost to a certainty, it is never the case that we get a COVID-active person the exact same day they got COVID," Veilleux said.
As of Oct. 26, there were 905 cases in Isabella County since the start of the pandemic, according to the health department’s website. There have been 585 recoveries and 15 deaths.
This story was updated from a previous version to further explain rapid testing and it's relation to athletes.
