DeKALB – For the third day in a row, Northern Illinois University reported two more cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, as two more students test positive.
One student who contracted the virus over the past week has already recovered, though, according to NIU’s data.
The total number of cases linked to NIU campus is now 12, according to NIU’s COVID-19 website, which is updated daily.
In total, 10 students and two employees have tested positive for the viral respiratory disease.
Daily COVID-19 case data from the DeKalb County Health Department may not reflect daily data from NIU because some students or employees may live outside the county and still test positive for the virus.
On Monday, NIU will roll out additional testing protocols, as campus and community leaders grapple with containment measures since the return of students for the fall semester brought with it last week “several large gatherings,” said DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith.
NIU staff are encouraged to get tested via state testing sites or their healthcare provider on their own. Students living off campus in Greek housing and otherwise are also not required to get tested, though anyone experiencing symptoms is asked to remain at home.
Students living on campus can pay a $7.90 per credit hour health fee to utilize nasal swab testing services at Northwestern Medicine Student Health Center in the Health Services Building on campus.
Students living on campus were required to get tested for COVID-19 prior to move in, but periodic testing throughout the semester will be done a little differently, through surveillance testing, which is when a control group of the population are tested intermittently to more quickly assess realities of community spread.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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