The University of Arizona said a two-week shelter-in-place recommendation intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 was set to expire Tuesday.
University officials on Monday cited recent COVID-19 testing data thaf has shown numbers headed in the right direction.
Officials said the university’s daily positivity rate — a measure of the virus’s community spread — fell to 3.4% on Friday, below the targeted 5%. There were 261 confirmed coronavirus cases among students and employees last week, less than before the stay-at-home request when cases climbed to that number in a single day.
“This is not a time to become complacent, however,” said university President Robert Robbins. “I continue to see groups of students around the university boulevard and elsewhere without face coverings, and I beg you to please listen and follow the guidelines.”
Robbins warned students that the recommendation could be reinstated if cases start to rise again, and Pima County health officials could take more restrictive measures.
Dr. Richard Carmona, who is leading the re-entry task force, said the university would like to increase its testing but students are not getting tested because they do not want to quarantine.
“So it may be that we have to start considering mandatory testing for students who come on campus and make it a condition of being a student if this continues,” Carmona said.
The university has implemented mandatory random testing for students living on campus and is considering similar options for students living off-campus.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
