The University reported 30 new student and 23 new faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholar COVID-19 cases for the week of Nov. 29, according to the COVID-19 dashboard.
This is the highest student case count the University has reported since the week of Jan. 4 and is five times higher than the six student cases reported the week before. The dashboard attributes the increase in cases to a combination of travel and social gatherings following Thanksgiving break.
The number of positive student test results as a proportion of total tests administered remains low, according to University spokesperson E.J. Miranda, with 30 positive tests out of nearly 12,000.
The employee case count is more than four times higher than the five employee cases reported the week before. The University continues to see little to no spread amongst employees in workplaces at the university, according to the dashboard. Of the 23 new employee cases, 10 are included in the University’s testing count, and the remaining 13 either tested outside the University’s surveillance testing system or tested positive earlier than last week but had just reported it to the University, according to the dashboard.
11,973 student tests and 11,027 employee tests were administered during the week of Nov. 29, compared to the 5,914 student tests and 6,169 employee tests administered during the week of Nov. 22 due to Thanksgiving break. The 0.25% seven-day positivity rate for students is more than double last week’s 0.10%, and the 0.09% rate for faculty, staff and postdocs is also an increase from last week’s 0.07%. Both rates continue to remain lower than Santa Clara County’s 1.50% positivity rate and California’s 2.20% positivity rate.
The University continues to monitor the situation surrounding COVID-19 variants, according to the dashboard. The first U.S. case of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant was identified in San Francisco on Dec. 1, and there are currently no reports of the variant on campus. The University maintains that vaccination and mask-wearing provide strong protection against serious COVID-19 illness and continues to provide weekly testing to campus community members and adhere to the county mask mandate, according to the dashboard.
“We will continue to monitor CDC, state and county guidance and adjust health and safety protocols as conditions evolve and provide updates to the university community,” Miranda wrote.