Northwestern COVID-19 positivity rate declines, still one of the highest reported since beginning of pandemic
Daily file photo by Angeli Mittal
While the University reported a lower positivity rate this week and 77 fewer new positive cases, these are still some of the highest metrics reported on campus throughout the pandemic.
April 24, 2022
While Northwestern’s COVID-19 positivity rate declined slightly this week, it remains on the higher end since the start of the pandemic.
Last week’s positivity rate of 5.91% was the second highest reported throughout the pandemic. The University told The Daily on Tuesday that NU does not intend to make changes to its masking or testing policies despite this spike in positivity.
The COVID-19 positivity rate this week declined to 5.17% this week — a 0.74 percentage point decrease from last week.
New positive cases this week declined 25% from the week prior to 227 cases. However, the number of tests received also went down this week by almost 15% to approximately 4,400 tests.
Of the 227 University cases, undergraduate students continue to comprise the majority of new positives at 50% with 114 cases. Non-undergraduate students account for 26% with 59 cases. Staff members constitute 38 of the cases, while faculty account for 16.
NU students, faculty and staff can receive free, in-person asymptomatic testing at the Donald P. Jacobs Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m on weekdays. Those with symptoms should use the northwest side testing entrance at the Jacobs Center to receive in-person testing between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.
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Twitter: @amittal27
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