Monthly Archives: August 2020
Read more about the article Champaign-Urbana emergency orders fall short of researchers’ recommendationsReddit
Photos are being captured of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student gatherings and parties as they return to campus. This gathering, located at Green Street Towers on August 21, 2020, was posted to Reddit, shaming students for ignoring city orders and not wearing masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Champaign-Urbana emergency orders fall short of researchers’ recommendations

The cities of Champaign and Urbana both issued emergency orders intended to prevent a possible surge in COVID-19 cases as students return to campus for the fall semester. Illinois researchers Eric Jakobsson and Santiago Nunez-Corrales created a computer model that estimated that students will bring back nine times the viral load – or rate of disease – than of community members. In a letter to both city councils, they recommended the cities, all bars and restaurants return to having only curbside pick-up, delivery or drive through. They said without those measures there could be an additional 800 cases, 80 more hospitalizations and four more deaths.

Continue ReadingChampaign-Urbana emergency orders fall short of researchers’ recommendations
Read more about the article University expands testing requirements as researchers predict hundreds more casesPam Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess
A tent and signs indicate a Covid-19 testing site at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Alice Campbell Alumni Center on Friday, July 31, 2020. The University is conducting free saliva tests for faculty, staff and students with results typically known within 48 hours.

University expands testing requirements as researchers predict hundreds more cases

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign quietly announced on Tuesday an expansion of its Covid-19 testing by requiring students to be tested routinely even if they live in the community but do not plan to come to campus. The decision comes during a week when two university epidemiologists recommended in a letter to city officials in Champaign and Urbana that they go back from current Phase 4 of the Illinois reopening plan to Phase 3 to limit the spread of the virus during the surge of returning students.

Continue ReadingUniversity expands testing requirements as researchers predict hundreds more cases
Read more about the article Returning international students from countries with lower infection rates of COVID-19 than the U.S.Pam Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess
A tent and signs indicate a Covid-19 testing site at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Alice Campbell Alumni Center on Friday, July 31, 2020. The University is conducting free saliva tests for faculty, staff and students with results typically known within 48 hours.

Returning international students from countries with lower infection rates of COVID-19 than the U.S.

Most of the international students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s 2019-2020 academic year are from countries with lower daily Covid-19 infection rates than the United States, according to a CU-CitizenAccess analysis. Last spring, 9,824 international students attended the University from more than 100 countries, according to university data.

Continue ReadingReturning international students from countries with lower infection rates of COVID-19 than the U.S.
Read more about the article More than 20,000 university students may return from zip codes with higher positivity rates for COVID-19Pam Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess.org
A tent and signs indicate a Covid-19 testing site at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Alice Campbell Alumni Center on Friday, July 31, 2020. The University is conducting free saliva tests for faculty, staff and students with results typically known within 48 hours.

More than 20,000 university students may return from zip codes with higher positivity rates for COVID-19

Champaign County has had about 2 percent of those tested for the virus receive positive results, which means the person should self-quarantine for 14 days. But a comparison of state public health test data on August 3 and ZIP code data for students who attended the University in the last academic year shows that 20,000 out of 28,000 students from Illinois may arrive from ZIP codes with positive percentages above 5 percent, according to a review of the data by CU-CitizenAccess.org.

Continue ReadingMore than 20,000 university students may return from zip codes with higher positivity rates for COVID-19
Read more about the article Many returning university students may come from high-risk states for COVID-19Pam Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess.org
A tent and signs indicate a Covid-19 testing site at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Alice Campbell Alumni Center on Friday, July 31, 2020. The University is conducting free saliva tests for faculty, staff and students with results typically known within 48 hours.

Many returning university students may come from high-risk states for COVID-19

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in January, Champaign County – home to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and about 50,000 faculty, students and staff – has experienced a low number of positive cases when compared to many other areas of the state and the U.S. A comparison of university data on where out-of-state students are from as of the last school year and data on the positivity rates in those states show as many as 5,000 students may be arriving from 32 states that have positivity rates higher than 5 percent, according to a review of the data by CU-CitizenAccess.org

Continue ReadingMany returning university students may come from high-risk states for COVID-19