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COVID-19 SPREAD
editor’s note: For six months, the OU community, along with the rest of the world, has felt confusion and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be equated to a living nightmare — people are sick and dying due to a new illness that has spread at an excessive rate. During a time like this, the only antidote to that confusion and anxiety is to get answers. The Daily has been asking the university questions related to COVID-19 since the pandemic first made waves in March, and while we’ve done our best to communicate those answers to our audience as much as possible, they are spread upon multiple stories over multiple months. This is not a typical Crimson Quarterly edition or story, but during a time when we all need answers, we decided to make this edition a resource for the OU community. The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time in the history of the university and the world, and because of that, we want to share all the information we have. The entirety of this edition contains answers to all the questions asked of the university, sorted by date and topic. While we wish we could publish everything The Daily has asked the university since March, due to limited space in the magazine, we are including what we have asked from July 24 to Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. In an effort of transparency, questions and answers have been left unedited, but occasional words have been inserted in brackets for clarity. Questions are in bold, and responses were made by OU Director of Media Relations Kesha Keith the same day the question was asked unless otherwise specified. Context has been added to some questions in italics.
COVID-19 spread: July 24: Currently, how many contact tracers are employed at OU and how many are being hired for the fall (if any more are being hired)? Goddard Health Center is working with the Cleveland County Health Department to trace contacts of positive cases who are affiliated with the University. Goddard contact tracers will notify individuals who are considered a direct contact of a positive case. Currently, Goddard has appropriate staffing to manage the caseload on campus. The number of tracers needed in the future will vary considerably due to the number of new cases and the average number of contacts per case. Data from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and benchmarking studies from the American College Health Association (ACHA) have been used to estimate the number of tracers needed for the campus population. July 24: Given that a saliva test is 87 percent accurate, what else is the university doing to mitigate false negatives? No test is 100% accurate. However, the company administering the testing, Vault Health, is a reputable testing company with a history of producing reliable results. Additionally, a representative appointed by Vault Health will walk
all housing students through the test via Zoom to ensure they’re administered accurately. Students who test will still be required to complete all three steps, including completion of a health screening. July 24: How do administrators hope to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, since the university doesn’t currently plan to provide testing to students living off-campus, but those students will be interacting with students that live on campus? The most effective mitigation strategies available at this time are to have everyone wearing a mask, and practicing social distancing. It is likely that some students, staff, or faculty could get infected with this virus in the community so we put those mitigation strategies into place to prevent on-campus spread of the virus. July 24: How reliable are (at-home COVID-19) test results, as students can test negative and then contract COVID-19 the next day? There are no perfect tests for COVID-19. If done too early after exposure to the infection, they can be falsely negative, and yes, a student can do the test and subsequently be exposed or infected. We are specifically asking all students to self-isolate after they do the test and until they arrive on campus to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. (Please obtain scientific test details from Vault Health). July 24: How will the university mitigate
COVID-19 spread from students who choose to frequent bars, parties and other off-campus social activities? We will be educating the students on their personal responsibility to prevent spread of this disease. And while it is not the responsibility of the university to dictate the behaviors of students when off campus, we have put into place the mitigation strategies (universal mask wearing and physical distancing) to prevent spread of the virus on our campuses. July 24: In the OU Norman Campus COVID-19 Contact Tracing Definition portion of OU’s website, it says that “OU will continue to investigate, evaluate and deploy technologies which may support and enhance contact tracing, including but not limited to data management software, Wi-Fi tracking, and mobile phone applications aimed at automating parts of the contact tracing process as they become available.” Are there any updates regarding OU’s plans to utilize these forms of technology or any technology beyond what is listed for online screening? The University is continuing to explore best practices for appropriate contact tracing. July 24: In previous reopening phases, the University hasn’t had access to testing results. Will they have access to the testing results of this third phase, as students begin to move onto campus? The testing company contracted by the University to perform tests has agreed to provide test results to the student and OU Health Services. The University will only receive the COVID test results and use them for determining whether the student is eligible to move into the residence halls. July 24: Is OU concerned about virus spread from the commuter community, who regularly travel from hours away on a daily basis? What is OU doing to combat this? We have put into place the mitigation strategies (universal mask wearing and physical distancing) that have been shown to prevent spread of the virus while the students are on campus. July 24: What about off-campus residents? Will they be required to receive testing? Are there plans in the works for providing these students with access to free testing? Students living off-campus will not be required to test, however are required to complete the University’s COVID-19 Screening and Reporting form. OU faculty, staff and students can contact Goddard for testing information. July 24: What data is being used to decide the number of tracers OU will require to maintain a safe environment? Data from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and benchmarking studies from the American College Health Association (ACHA) have been used to estimate the number of tracers needed for the campus population. July 24: What will the jobs of these tracers be on-campus?
