One hundred and four students have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the week, Chief Health Officer Sarah Van Orman announced Thursday. The positivity rate among asymptomatic students is 2.7%, “very high” according to Van Orman.
Of those tests, 73 students tested positive through USC Student Health’s testing for exposed and/or symptomatic students. USC contracted testing distributor Color, which found 31 positive cases through asymptomatic surveillance. Van Orman said 500 additional Color population tests are currently pending.
The rise in positive test results comes after what Van Orman called an “alarming” surge in cases on Monday, when 43 positive cases were reported among students living off-campus. The first on-campus cases were reported Wednesday.
Van Orman said Thursday’s numbers were the university’s largest increase in positive cases in a single testing period. The anticipated positivity rate among asymptomatic students is 0.3%, far below current numbers, according to Van Orman.
USC Student Health continues to recommend that students living in the USC area get tested every week through Color’s population testing, which is free for students.
“In spite of [the extreme volume of cases we’re getting], we want more work,” Van Orman said.
“We want people to get tested with us, and we want them to understand that’s the best way for us to control the spread within the student community.”
Student test results, either from USC Student Health or Color’s population testing, and contact tracing information are not shared with Student Affairs, according to Van Orman.