Hillsdale College reported five total COVID-19 cases Monday, four active cases and one cleared case. Thirty-three students are currently in quarantine or isolation.
Of the 33, 29 students are self-isolating, 26 of whom came into contact with an individual who tested positive, and three of whom are awaiting test results. According to Dean of Men Aaron Petersen, 55 students have been cleared from isolation since in-person classes started Aug. 26.
The five positive cases are confirmed to be members of the same friend group, according to a statement released by the college on Sunday.
The school has conducted more than 100 tests, which is roughly 7% of the student body, the statement said.
With a 5% test-positive rate, Hillsdale is slightly over the 3% threshold which Michigan state health officials have been using to gauge community spread. According to Bridge Michigan, a 3% positivity rate among tested individuals indicates there are people in the community who have yet to be tested but who have most likely come in close contact with a positive case.
Despite the test rate, Health Care Liason Stephanie Gravel said that the college is issuing an appropriate amount of COVID-19 tests to the student body.
“Right now, I think it’s adequate,” Gravel said. “They’re testing all the competing athletes too. So that’s had really good results.”
Allergies, common colds, and the flu all produce similar symptoms to COVID-19. The majority of students in isolation have not been in close contact with a positive case, Gravel said, but are exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Gravel said most students who get tested test negative and have a general head cold or sinus infection, not COVID-19.
Students experiencing symptoms should consult Health Services via phone, email, or the mobile app HillsdaleGO, at which point medical personnel will decide if they should get tested.
“In cooperation with Hillsdale Hospital, the college has been helping symptomatic students access COVID-19 tests once they have been screened by a healthcare professional to do so,” Petersen said in an email. “Based on health official recommendations we are primarily testing symptomatic individuals at this time.”
Gravel said the college’s emphasis on contact tracing proved very effective in containing the spread. She encouraged students to “follow directions when they’re told to self-isolate.”
“We continue to work in coordination with the Hillsdale County Health Department,” Brock Lutz, director of health services, said in the college’s statement on Sunday.
