Four Princeton University Staff Members Test Positive Of COVID

PRINCETON, NJ — Four staff members of Princeton University have tested positive of COVID-19, after week one of asymptomatic testing, the university reported on Wednesday.

The university began their week-long asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for on-campus students and staff on Aug. 24.

More than 4000 staff and students living on campus were tested.

All four staff who tested positive are currently in isolation. The University’s Global and Community Health (GCH) team also conducted contact tracing to quarantine those who were considered to be close contacts of the positive cases.

No student tested positive.

“The four positive cases found were not in close contact with one another and so this very small positivity rate does not reflect a cluster — an important public health consideration,” Melissa Marks, director of medical services at University Health Services, said in a statement.

Marks said the results are "encouraging for the start of the semester."

Although the university has moved its fall semester online, many undergraduate students were allowed to return to campus due to housing insecurity and other exceptional circumstances.

Read More Here: Princeton University Announces Asymptomatic COVID-19 Testing

The University has established a Screening, Testing and Analysis Group to assess and compare asymptomatic screening test results week-to-week throughout the fall semester.

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