COVID-19 Campus Update

Dear DU Students, Faculty & Staff,

We are thrilled to have our full campus back in person this week! According to the NYT tracking page, although cases are still at incredibly high levels, the US may be reaching its omicron peak. Similarly, cases in Denver and Colorado have leveled off and are coming down. Importantly, seven day positivity on campus is falling and is currently 5%, compared to positivity of over 25% in our surrounding area. (Please keep in mind that numbers on the dashboard include external tests and pre-arrival tests.) Looking at the data collected via our spit lab, our numbers for on-campus tests are even more favorable. Nearly 12,300 people (91%) have completed at least their first test to access campus this term. Our on campus test positivity is 3.77% (7-day), 3.57% (3-day), and 2.2% yesterday (of 2,275 tests collected yesterday).

Of course, we are not yet out of the woods. We will continue to test aggressively, conduct contact tracing, and require high quality masks. With the protocols and resources we have in place, we will continue to promote our community’s health and well-being for in-person engagement.

Thank you for your cooperation. We are proud and grateful to have co-created these conditions with you. We will continue to adapt in the upcoming weeks to what we hope will be decreasing disease burden and therefore the ability to reduce our alert level and potentially ease some of our protocols. If you have not yet had your booster, the Safeway on the corner of Evans and Downing is holding appointments exclusively for DU students and staff. Have a great weekend!

Sarah Watamura, PhD
COVID Response Coordinator
covidcoordinator@du.edu