Stanford reported 114 new student and 121 new faculty, staff and post-doctoral scholar COVID-19 cases during the week of Jan. 31, according to the COVID-19 dashboard.
Compared to last week, case counts decreased by 26% among students and 37% among employees. As of Monday, 158 students are in isolation, according to the dashboard, which is a decline from the 204 isolating students reported on Jan. 31.
18,972 Color COVID-19 tests were administered during the week of Jan. 31, which was fewer than the 19,674 tests administered during the prior week. These testing numbers do not include rapid antigen tests. Stanford continues to provide students with Color COVID-19 tests, requiring weekly testing for those who are vaccinated and twice weekly testing for unvaccinated students.
Stanford’s seven-day positivity rate fell from 1.64% last week to 1.25% this week for students, and it fell from 1.02% to 0.71% for faculty, staff and postdocs. The seven-day positivity rate on campus remains lower than Santa Clara County’s 7.10% rate and California’s 9.50% rate, which have both also significantly declined since last week.
Of the 121 new employee cases, 70 are included in the University’s testing count, and the remaining individuals tested outside the University’s surveillance testing system, such as through rapid antigen tests, or tested positive earlier than last week but just reported it to the University, according to the dashboard. Many people in this population have been working away from campus, according to the dashboard.
“We are encouraged by the most recent data on our COVID dashboard that show the number of students in isolation is declining,” University spokesperson E.J. Miranda wrote. “We will continue to closely monitor the public health situation on campus and update the community on any new protocols or policy changes.”
Peer institutions are experiencing similar declines in student positivity rates. Dartmouth reported a drop to a 5% positivity rate, and Northwestern reported a slight increase to 2.25%. Both are above Stanford’s 1.25% positivity rate.
A total of 1,977 students and 1,747 faculty, staff and postdocs have tested positive through Stanford’s surveillance testing system since Aug. 31, 2020, according to the dashboard.
The University continues to monitor the COVID-19 variants and enforce weekly COVID-19 testing and masking requirements, regardless of vaccination status. Stanford also continues to emphasize that vaccination, testing and masking can prevent serious illness, according to the dashboard.