Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases over the weekend, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has moved from Guarded to Elevated Risk Posture, which imposes some additional restrictions on campus to help slow the spread of the virus.
As of Monday, there were 6 confirmed positive student cases and other probable student cases identified on campus since Oct. 15.
Under the Elevated Risk Posture, instruction is primarily virtual with some in-person learning. Some shared spaces are open, and gatherings are capped at 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors. Faculty and staff are encouraged to continue working remotely wherever possible.
“As soon as we learned of these additional cases, we made some immediate changes on campus to help mitigate the spread of the virus,” said Dr. Catherine Koverola, Pitt-Bradford’s president. “Our priority is to support the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff.”
The decision to move to Elevated Risk Status was made based on a recommendation by the University of Pittsburgh’s Healthcare Advisory Group in consultation with the COVID-19 Medical Response Office.
As confirmed or probable cases are discovered on campus, the university quickly enacts its established protocols -- isolating ill students, quarantining close contacts and conducting contact tracing -- to support the health and safety of the campus community as well as neighbors in the surrounding community.
Moving to a more restrictive posture is only one measure that the university has undertaken.
Surveillance testing of asymptomatic students is now being conducted weekly to provide a more complete picture of the prevalence of the virus on campus. Additionally, students in quarantine – those who are considered close contacts of students who have tested or are suspected to be positive -- will be tested.
To further support the health of the campus community and the surrounding community, all upcoming in-person student events have been moved to virtual formats, postponed or canceled; off-campus student trips have been canceled; and all student internships and many campus placements have been temporarily paused.
“As we make these changes,” Koverola said, “we continue to emphasize the importance of wearing face coverings indoors and out, maintaining proper physical distancing, washing hands or sanitizing frequently, and minimizing the number of close contacts outside of roommates, pods and households.”
To keep everyone up to date regarding the number of confirmed positive cases on campus, Pitt-Bradford will continue to update its COVID-19 website dashboard twice weekly.
More information about what it means to transition from Guarded to Elevated Risk Posture and other important updates are available at coronavirus.pitt.edu.