The University of Arizona’s COVID-19 virtual university status update team met for its last briefing of the semester Monday, May 3. They reflected on the efforts of community volunteers at the state Point of Distribution site and the recent decline in COVID-19 transmission.
The UA will complete the semester in Phase 3 of reentry. Classes of 100 or fewer students designated as “in-person” or “flex in-person” may meet for in-person instruction.
The university POD has now administered a grand total of 212,702 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of those vaccinated at the UA POD, 28.3% self-identify as Hispanic or Latinx.
“The positive impact created by the POD is a testament to the skill, expertise and dedication of our entire vaccination team,” said UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins, “which includes faculty, staff, community volunteers, many of whom are our students. Thank you all for making the POD a phenomenal success.”
Beginning today, the UA vaccine POD will operate fully indoors at the Ina E. Gittings building. Robbins said he expected the site to be decommissioned soon so that the state can pursue other avenues of vaccination.
From April 22 to May 1, the UA administered 7,273 COVID-19 tests, which resulted in 17 positives – a positivity rate of 0.2%.
“We had a run of a few days in a row where we had zero infections, which is truly remarkable,” Robbins said. “Wastewater testing on campus and near campus locations also suggests that the virus continues to decline on campus and the surrounding areas.”
The virus’s rate of transmission in the university zip-code area substantially decreased to 0.70 from 1.02 the previous week. The Rt on the county level also decreased to 0.71 from 0.99 the previous week.
The Campus Area Response Team was deployed to three incidents of large gatherings last week, a decrease from five incidents the previous week. One of these incidents was a gathering of 100 or more individuals.
The Class of 2021 commencement ceremonies begin May 10. Robbins asked students to communicate to their guests the university’s expectations for wearing face coverings and social distancing.
This status update was the last of the spring semester. Briefings will be held intermittently throughout the summer and will resume its regular schedule before the beginning of the fall semester.
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