The drop in Lane County’s COVID-19 risk level-- from Extreme to High--will affect some operations at the University of Oregon.
Residency halls will begin allowing limited indoor seating. The Student Recreation Center will have expanded occupancy starting Monday.
U of O spokesperson Kay Jarvis said students and staff have been diligent with safety measures. With continuous testing and contact tracing, they are able to quickly move positive and presumptive cases into isolation and quarantine.
“Through this rigorous approach, we are seeing case counts continue to drop as they have done over the past month,” she said. “Last week, the positivity rate for on-campus housing was well below 1%.”
Campus buildings remain closed to the general public. Jarvis said weekly, on-campus testing will continue-- at least through the beginning of spring term. She added that students are discouraged from traveling for Spring Break. A “Week of Wellness” is planned on campus with safe activities and a chance for students “to de-stress and relax.”
In the past two weeks, the U of O has reported 56 off campus students, 47 on-campus students and 2 employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
U of O Uses Grant Funds For Latinx Testing Events
The U of O will be holding “pop up” COVID-19 testing events off campus. The goal is to provide free testing to populations that have experienced significant disparities in COVID-19 cases and health outcomes. Specifically: Oregon’s Latinx communities.
These “pop up” testing events are funded by a $4.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The next one will be this Saturday (02/27/21) at the 4-J School District Office in Eugene from 9 am to noon.
