Auburn University reports more than 500 new COVID-19 cases in 1 week – Montgomery Advertiser

Workers watch the crowd below outside Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2018. (Photo: Jake Crandall)

AUBURN More than 500 Auburn University students tested positive for COVID-19 between Aug. 22-28. That's more than double the previous week's total of 202.

Four hundred and ninety on-campus students tested positive, as did 18 fromthe Auburn University Regional Airport and one from the E.W. Shell Fisheries Center.

Eight employees (faculty and staff) also tested positive.

Auburn did not share how many tests were conducted last week, so it's not clear what the positivity rate is.

UPDATE:A university spokesman told theAdvertiserthat the number cannot be accurately tracked those 490 positives include both tests conducted by the Auburn University Medical Clinic and self-reported positives from other testing sites, and the AUMC tests more than just students.

"You can't take that positive number and use it in a denominator or numerator situation with the other number," the spokesman said, "because they don't match."

Asince-deleted postbyAUMC to itsFacebook page Tuesday morning said that 567 of 1,416 total samples (40%) came back positive, but that information has not been corroborated.

AUMC director Dr. Fred Kam said Auburn University has seen no hospitalizations as a result of COVID-19.

"Not unexpected," Kam said of the more than 500 positive tests. "In fact, my expectation was going to be over 700.

"When you put together as many people as we have, students coming back together, the expectation is that there will be, again, a spike;an ongoing increase in numbers. That's to be expected, not unexpected. These are relatively young, healthy people who are going to socialize. They've done that. We've gone through two or three weeks of them interactingwith each other and not taking all the preventative measures, something that we keep pushing and educating about. But it is a challenge."

Auburn has now discovered 1,043 student cases on campus since March 16. Seven hundred and thirty-three of those have come over the past three weeks, and that does not include any students might have gone somewhere other than AUMC to get tested and did not self-report results. Only 859 tested positive prior to returning to campus as part of the state-wide GuideSafe re-entry program.

Lee County reported a single-day record 109 confirmed new cases on Friday and has seen its seven-day average increase from 11.3 on Aug. 17 (the first day of classes) to 64.1, according to Bama Tracker.

"We expect to see multiple spikes, as least three to four, between now and Nov. 24," Kam said, referencing the final day of the fall semester (finals will be conducted remotely in December.

This story will be updated if more information becomes available.

Josh Vitale is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. You can follow him on Twitter at @JoshVitale. To reach him by email,click here. If you enjoy Josh's coverage, consider a digital subscription that will give you access to all of it.

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Auburn University reports more than 500 new COVID-19 cases in 1 week - Montgomery Advertiser