Stanford reported 249 new COVID-19 cases among students and 140 new cases among faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars for the week of May 2, according to the COVID-19 dashboard.
Case counts increased by 56% among students and 9% among employees compared to the prior week. According to the dashboard, 328 students are in isolation as of Monday, which is an increase from the 239 students reported last week. The University attributes the rise in cases to travel and gatherings, according to the dashboard.
This case count is the highest reported by the University since the start of spring quarter. The uptick in cases comes after the University welcomed 1,150 admitted students and at least 1,500 guests to campus for Admit Weekend on April 29. Stanford enforced various COVID-19 precautions during the weekend, including prohibiting admitted students from entering student residences.
The Daily reached out to University spokesperson E.J. Miranda for comment regarding how the recent trends compare to Stanford’s expectations.
Stanford continues to provide students with Color COVID-19 tests and require biweekly tests for unvaccinated students. While vaccinated students are no longer required to test through Stanford’s surveillance system as of April 11, the University continues to emphasize that vaccination, testing and masking can prevent serious illness, according to the dashboard.
The University’s seven-day positivity rate rose from 6.09% last week to 9.32% this week for students and rose from 1.35% to 1.57% for employees. The number of tests administered to students rose slightly from 2,628 the prior week to 2,671 this week, according to the dashboard. The seven-day positivity rate for students is greater than Santa Clara County’s 5.8% rate and California’s 3.9% rate.
Peer institutions are also experiencing increases in student positivity rates. Harvard reported an increase to a 2.98% positivity rate, and the University of California, Berkeley, reported an increase to an 8.5% positivity rate. Stanford’s 9.32% positivity rate remains above that of Harvard and UC Berkeley.
Of the 140 new employee cases, 55 are included in the University’s testing count. The remaining 85 individuals tested outside the University’s surveillance testing system through rapid antigen tests or tested positive earlier than last week but just reported it to the University, according to the dashboard.
A total of 3,581 students and 2,114 faculty, staff and postdocs have tested positive through Stanford’s surveillance testing system since June 29, 2020, according to the dashboard.