The Wheel publishes updates every Saturday about coronavirus spread within the Emory community, the University’s COVID-19 testing strategy and other related information. The Wheel also tracks on campus cases daily, which can be viewed on our homepage.
Latest cases
The University reported 12 new cases this past week. Seven of the cases were off campus, comprising six students and one faculty. The other five consisted of one student living at the Undergraduate Residential Center at Clairmont Campus, two staff members at the Health Sciences Research Building, one staff member at Emory University Hospital and one staff member at Emory Clinic at 1525 Clifton Road.
The U.S. continues to produce record daily highs in recorded coronavirus cases. Sharon Rabinovitz, executive director of Emory Student Health Services, believes this will have an impact on the number of cases on campus, but that the systems already in place, such as weekly testing and the Emory Community Compact, should help “mitigate” the spread.
“That’s why it’s so important that everyone continues even more than ever [to keep] physically distancing, washing their hands [and] wearing their mask,” she said.
Testing for Thanksgiving, Winter Break
Hurricane Zeta passed through Georgia early on Oct. 29, causing widespread power outages. The Emory Conference Center Hotel lost power as a result of the storm, causing all COVID-19 testing scheduled on Thursday and Friday to relocate to the Woodruff Physical Education Center.
For on-campus students returning home for winter break, it is important to prevent transmitting the virus to others at home by “[timing] your test to around the time that you’ll be leaving campus,” Rabinovitz said. Further communication regarding testing and departing campus is forthcoming.
Flu vaccines
The flu vaccine will be required for all students returning to campus in the spring, Rabinovitz said. Students may receive the vaccine through Student Health or another provider. Students receiving their vaccine elsewhere will need to provide proof that they did so.
“Everybody who does get a flu shot outside of Student Health needs to keep their documentation,” she advised.
No flu cases have been documented on Emory’s campus.
“Prevalence is very, very low, and we haven’t had any cases as of yet,” Rabinovitz said. “We want to just keep it that way.”
Madison Hopkins (23C) is a quantitative sciences and creative writing major from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is interested in pursuing biology research and volunteers as an assistant in the Gerardo lab at Emory. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing fantasy and science fiction.
