COVID cases rise during first week of fall semester

Boise State University released the number of confirmed COVID cases among students and faculty members for the first week of classes on Friday, Aug. 27.

The data, which reflects cases from Aug. 20-26, reported 56 new cases on campus, with three coming from faculty and staff, 16 from residential students and 37 from off-campus students.

According to the Boise State COVID-19 Dashboard, this adds up to a total of 75 campus cases since Aug. 13.

Though these numbers are significantly less than the peak seen by the university at 3,169 cases for the week of Dec. 4, 2021, they’re significantly higher than those recorded around this time last year (eight cases on Aug. 28, 2020).

Currently, 13 of the university’s 66 isolation beds are occupied. The beds are available for campus residents who either tested positive for COVID or are awaiting test results.

As students make their way back onto campus, positive COVID cases continue to rise. However, the Boise State community has also seen an increase in vaccination rates.

For the week of Aug. 20-26, a total of 144 vaccines were administered by the Boise State Vaccination Clinic to both eligible members of campus and the broader Boise community. The clinic began administering the vaccine on Mar. 3, 2021, and since then a total of 6,517 community members have gotten vaccinated at this location.

In an email sent to students last week signed by [list a couple of people], students were reminded of Boise State’s expectations for a safe semester.

“Your positive actions can help keep the university open, in-person activities available and stop the spread of the virus,” the email read. “We strongly encourage you to get vaccinated and continue to wear masks even in those places where it is not required, such as off campus.”
The COVID-19 Tracking Dashboard, which is updated weekly on Fridays, will continue to reflect the university’s progress in keeping students healthy and safe.