NIU weekly COVID-19 update: 28 new virus cases

DeKALB – Over the past week, from March 1 through Monday, Northern Illinois University reported 19 new cases of COVID-19: one employee and 18 students.

The university also reported 16 recoveries among four employees and 12 students.

Of the remaining nine active cases on campus, all nine are among students. Since the start of the school year Aug. 19, there have been 1,182 cases of COVID-19 and 1,171 recoveries.

According to the school’s website, 99% of the quarantine and isolation beds are available.

Surveillance testing is done weekly on a random selection of students and staff on campus via rapid testing, which allows NIU to locate and identify viral spread more quickly. During the week of Feb. 28, 2,301 surveillance tests were administered, resulting in 12 positive test results. NIU’s positivity rate is 0.52%.

NIU has a total enrollment of 14,601 for the spring semester, which includes undergraduate and graduate students, and 3,146 students living on campus.

As part of NIU’s COVID-19 protocol, all students and employees on campus are required to participate in weekly surveillance testing unless they provide proof of vaccination.

Gov. JB Pritzker has required all higher education students and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19. NIU had approved a similar mandate, including a required vaccine for students living on campus, before the governor’s announced mandate in late August.

Although specific surveillance testing results are reported weekly on Mondays, positive tests found through the program are included in daily statistics.

Daily COVID-19 case data from the DeKalb County Health Department might not reflect daily data from NIU because some students or employees may live outside the county and still test positive for the virus.