NC State reports COVID-19 cluster off-campus, plus new cases among Greek community
N.C. State reported its first COVID-19 cluster found in an off-campus house where a party or gathering had been held earlier this month, according to an N.C. State alert.
The cluster came from a house on the 2700 block of Clark Avenue in Raleigh, the school reported. N.C. State said it had confirmed that multiple people in that cluster are university students. The Wake County Human Services Department first notified the school of the cases.
North Carolina defines a cluster as five or more cases in close proximity.
A university spokesperson also confirmed eight students within N.C. State’s fraternity and sorority community have tested positive for COVID-19. The students were tested off-campus and self-reported their results to the school.
In its alert, N.C. State connects the Clark Avenue cluster to a party held Aug. 6, before classes began. The university encouraged anyone who attended the party to get tested for the coronavirus.
On N.C. State’s COVID-19 dashboard, which was updated Tuesday, the school reports 41 students and one university employee have tested positive from August 11 to 17. That includes testing from N.C. State’s Student Health Services, results from local health departments and self reporting.
But that dashboard gives a somewhat limited look at the university’s overall COVID-19 situation and includes overlapping data.
Students returned for mostly online learning on Aug. 10, and N.C. State started collecting self-reported cases on that date. According to the dashboard, there have been 33 self-reported positives within the school’s student body. The self-reported data also includes individuals who have been in close contact with a positive case, but have not necessarily tested positive themselves.
“We’re trying to be overly cautious,” university spokesperson Mick Kulikowski told The News & Observer. “We’re also trying to be really robust with our contact tracing and telling people self-reporting is really important in protecting this community.”
The school previously reported 20 positive cases since the pandemic began in March.
The school has set aside 166 housing units for students who test positive or may have come in contact with the virus. N.C. State currently has 26 students, or 15.6%, in quarantine or isolation on campus, down from 35 on Monday, according to the dashboard.
N.C. State’s cluster report comes the day after UNC-Chapel Hill decided to move all classes online after several outbreaks had been reported and 135 students tested positive for the virus in the last week.
Monday, Kulikowski said N.C. State remains committed to on-campus classes and the COVID-19 protocols the school put in place.
“There are not plans at this time to move all of NC State’s classes online, however, the university is closely tracking the impact of the virus and will make decisions going forward based on protecting the health of our students, staff and faculty,” he said in an email.
As of Aug. 18, the state Health and Human Services Department reports 14% of the state’s total coronavirus caseload among people aged 18 to 24.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 5:26 PM with the headline "NC State reports COVID-19 cluster off-campus, plus new cases among Greek community."