Pitt reports 35 new coronavirus cases in 3 days

The University of Pittsburgh saw a large increase in covid-19 cases last week, according to the most recent update to its covid-19 data dashboard.

Since last week, the university recorded a total of 46 new cases among students — 35 of which were recorded just Friday through Sunday. There are now 50 active Pitt students in isolation as of Monday.

The university has now recorded a cumulative total of 60 student cases since Aug. 1. There were no new cases among faculty and staff last week, or at any regional campuses. The increase caused the five-day moving average to rise to nearly nine cases per day.

“This virus has a few tricks up its sleeve and is extremely good at spreading within a community,” Dr. John Williams, head of Pitt’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office and professor of pediatrics, said in a statement. “But we believe in our students — they are responsible members of the Pitt community and they care about the health of their friends and those at Pitt who are helping keep the campus open.”

Pitt’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office sent an email to students Monday informing them of the increase in cases, saying that it “raises some concern” and reiterating a call for students to refrain from parties and follow public health guidelines.

The email states that approximately 75% of active cases are among students living off campus. Reports from the university’s contact tracing team also indicated that some students, a “small minority,” had 10 or more contacts. Most students, the email said, had between four and six contacts.

“These data likely reflect unsafe social gatherings without face coverings or physical distancing that occurred over the last one or two weeks,” the email reads. “The higher proportion of positive cases among students living off campus suggests that these gatherings are occurring at off-campus locations.”

Elise Martin, associate medical director of Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology, said early identification of cases and fast contact tracing and quarantine will be vital moving forward.

“We’re seeing several students with significantly more contacts than would be expected if you are complying with guidelines around limiting new close contacts, and we are seeing reports of unsafe social gatherings,” Martin said in a statement. “This behavior is concerning, and if we don’t control the spread of the virus now, it may jeopardize the success of the semester.”

The university recently completed its phased move-in approach. Pitt has instilled several mitigation strategies to prevent covid-19 from spreading within the community, including having students shelter in place for seven days both before and after arriving on campus. Students are being strictly monitored for violating health and safety rules, as well — last week, nine Greek life chapters were suspended and eight students were disciplined for violating covid-19 guidelines.

“Pitt is working really hard to take all the necessary steps to make the campus as safe as possible and control spread of the virus,” Martin said. “We need all the students to take that same approach and responsibility, limit their contacts, avoid large social gatherings, and wear a face covering.”

The university is also using surveillance testing of asymptomatic students to monitor the virus’ community spread. So far, only six students out of nearly 2,000 have tested positive this way — less than half a percent. The email sent Monday said the low percentage indicates a low prevalence of the virus among incoming students.

Pitt’s increase comes as Allegheny County overall experiences a decline in positive cases. There were 29 cases reported Tuesday, decreasing for the second day in a row after reporting a sharp decline in cases from July to August.

Starting this week, Pitt will be changing its reporting schedule, updating its dashboard twice a week. The next update will be Friday, and future updates will be made Tuesdays and Fridays.