UB has 100 confirmed active on-campus cases of COVID-19 among students and employees, according to the university’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Among those affected are 47 students living on-campus, 42 students living off-campus but taking classes on-campus and 11 university employees working on-campus. An additional 37 students living off-campus but taking classes remotely and one employee working remotely have tested positive for the virus in the past 14 days.
On Sept. 14, SUNY released a memorandum to clarify the threshold for a temporary suspension of in-person learning: “The New York State threshold for transitioning to fully-remote learning is 100 positive tests in a set, two-week period. At the end of the two week period, the count of positive cases toward the 100-case threshold will reset to zero, per state mandate.”
UB reached that threshold last Wednesday, but plans on retaining in-person instruction until Nov. 24 and transitioning to remote learning on Nov. 29, according to UB spokesperson John DellaContrada. Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs entered into an 'orange' micro-cluster zone Wednesday.
The university is mass-testing students prior to Thanksgiving break. This new policy applies to students who are taking at least one class on campus; students who are using on-campus services like gyms, libraries or dining halls; and students who are working on campus.
In an email to the UB community on Nov. 17, President Satish Tripathi encouraged students to heed the university’s health and safety guidelines.
“I want to thank our students, faculty and staff for your vigilance throughout the semester, which has ensured that our on-campus positivity rate has remained low,” Tripathi wrote. “We all share the understanding that the actions we take—namely, wearing our face masks, practicing physical distancing and good hygiene, avoiding attending gatherings and parties, and staying home if we feel sick—enhance and promote community health.”
Last update: Nov. 24 at 6:20 p.m.
The news desk can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com
Justin Weiss is The Spectrum's managing editor. In his free time, he can be found hiking, playing baseball or throwing things at his TV when his sports teams aren't winning. His words have appeared in Elite Sports New York and the Long Island Herald. He can be found on Twitter @Jwmlb1.
Elizabeth "Liz" Napolitano is the senior news editor for The Spectrum. She's an optimistic pessimist who found her love for journalism in Ecuador. She likes late night walks and reading Twitter threads in their entirety.
