Georgia Southern released a statement along with their weekly COVID-19 report that included shockingly high numbers of 508 total positive cases over the past week. They confirm they anticipated the rise in the statement.
“The report shows an anticipated rise in confirmed and self-reported cases after completion of the second full week of classes on our campuses. As an institution of nearly 27,000 students and 3,350 employees, positive reports represent a very small proportion of our overall university population. These cases are primarily concentrated within the student population on the Statesboro campus. While we have been pleased with how the university community is complying with public health guidelines on our campuses, we must remain vigilant in our efforts if we want to continue the semester as we have started.”
- Governor Kemp and the Georgia Department of Community Health along with the White House Coronavirus Task force do not look at total populations when determining severity of COVID outbreaks. They weight this by a population of 100,000. Targets for communities are 100 or less cases per 100,000 over a 14 day period. Today, Statesboro is at 735 cases per 100,000 and ranked 5th in the United States for newest cases per 100,000 over 14 days. As comparison, UGA in Athens has 490 cases per 100,000 and is ranked 167 on the list.
- Georgia Southern has adjusted the presentation of the report to highlight the confirmed cases. Confirmed cases are students who tested positive at the GSU Health Center. However, they are only testing symptomatic students and students are required to see a doctor before they can be tested. Students and parents have been complaining on social media that timely appointments are difficult to get.
Georgia Southern also removed last weeks report and did not include those totals. We have that report and will include it in this update.
Georgia Southern COVID-19 total cases for Statesboro for last two weeks reported:
- 548 Two Week Total Statesboro Campus – includes 61 from week ending 8/23 and 487 from week ending 8/30
Georgia Southern University released the COVID-19 positive cases August 24 through August 30:
- 508 total which includes 129 “confirmed” positives and 379 “self reporting” positives for all three campus
- 508 includes 21 from Armstrong campus. Zero from Liberty Campus
- 487 total Statesboro when you remove Armstrong’s 21
Reported Bulloch County cases August 24 through August 30:
- 475 total Bulloch County reported cases
- 587 total Georgia Southern reported cases (most of these cases should be reflected in the Bulloch total)
- 23 total Bulloch County Schools reported cases (cases should be reflected in Bulloch total)
Georgia Southern COVID-19 report for the week ending August 23:
- 71 total which includes 33 “confirmed” positives and 38 “self reporting” positives for all three campus
- 71 Included in the 71 total are 10 from Armstrong campus. Zero from Liberty Campus
- 61 total Statesboro when you remove Armstrong’s 21
Reported Bulloch County cases August 17 through August 23:
- 67 total Bulloch County reported cases
- 61 total Georgia Southern reported cases (most of these cases should be reflected in the Bulloch total)
- 6 total Bulloch County Schools reported cases (cases should be reflected in Bulloch total)
This is the full statement released by Georgia Southern released today along with the report:
“The report shows an anticipated rise in confirmed and self-reported cases after completion of the second full week of classes on our campuses. As an institution of nearly 27,000 students and 3,350 employees, positive reports represent a very small proportion of our overall university population. These cases are primarily concentrated within the student population on the Statesboro campus. While we have been pleased with how the university community is complying with public health guidelines on our campuses, we must remain vigilant in our efforts if we want to continue the semester as we have started.
Georgia Southern diligently tracks and reports both university confirmed and self-reported positive cases to ensure timely contact notification and to mitigate the spread of the virus amongst our population. This report should not be compared to other institutions that report only confirmed positive cases.
Proactively, we are reminding students to exercise responsibility both on and off campus—to wear face-coverings, remain socially distant from others, and wash their hands frequently. We applaud our student groups who have stepped up to support these efforts and to encourage responsibility within their social networks.
University leaders are continuously assessing internal and external public health and safety factors, operational efficiency, and continuity of curriculum and service delivery to our students. We remain in frequent communication with the Georgia Department of Public Health, regional healthcare administrators, local government and community leaders, and the University System of Georgia”.
