COVID cases increase, now account for a third of the total cases in Washtenaw County

ANN ARBOR – COVID-19 cases have increased at the University of Michigan, now accounting for 34% of the total cases in Washtenaw County, university officials reported on Tuesday.

In the update, employees also shared that 11 off-campus residences are now quarantined due to positive cases or face-to-face encounters during the school’s recommendation to stay, which expires at 11:59 pm on Sunday, February 7. This includes undergraduate students , graduate students and professionals who live on and off campus.

The recommendation was made by the Washtenaw County Health Department, as several new cases of the highly contagious new B117 COVID-19 variant have been reported on campus. All sports at UM have been stopped since January 23 due to outbreaks of the variant in the department.

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Read: University of Michigan students asked to stay home to contain the spread of the virus

The number of homes quarantined has doubled since Saturday due to new positive cases and potential exposures.

Those in quarantine are receiving pop-up tests on the fifth day of their 14-day isolation, and all students are encouraged to test for the virus each week, even if they are asymptomatic.

Read: University of Michigan identifies virus outbreaks in off-campus homes

According to the UM COVID Dashboard, the university reported 438 positive cases in the past 14 days, and 36,065 tests were administered in the same period. According to preliminary data, the positivity rate jumped in the week started on January 31st to 14.3%, compared to 1.3% in the previous week.

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As of February 3, UM will offer free saliva-based COVID-19 tests to Ann Arbor residents who live near campus.

For more information on when and where testing for city residents will take place, click here.

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