University Of Maryland Wraps Up First Week Of Classes With 0.3% COVID-19 Positivity Rate

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) -- This week, Maryland Stadium was very busy, but it wasn't for football.

It's where every University of Maryland student is being tested, mandatorily, for COVID-19.

Whether those results come back positive or negative, they will be added to a campus-wide COVID dashboard where students, staff and teachers can all track how the campus is doing.

CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

The numbers, two weeks after many students moved back to campus, are low. The positivity rate is 0.3 percent, and only 29 tests have come back positive.

Officials say this shows that the school's strategy is working.

"We get test results within 24 to 36 hours," Dr. Patty Perillo, Vice President for Student Affairs, said. "We immediately contact the person who's positive. We move them to isolation, and we quarantine those who they were in close contact with."

Of those who are positive, it's about half students and half staff or faculty.

Students are being urged to stay in their housing as much as possible and wear a mask when they do go out.

Some in-person classes will begin a week from Monday, so because of that, this week the University expects to test 9,000 more people compared to what they have been testing.

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.