Campus coronavirus roundup, 5.3.21: Cases rise at U of I, fall off elsewhere

Coronavirus case numbers fell on most Idaho campuses this week.

The lone exception: the University of Idaho, which is reporting more active cases than all of the state’s other colleges and universities, combined.

Here is this week’s campus coronavirus case roundup:

Increasing

University of Idaho. The U of I reported 27 cases for the week ending April 23, up from 17 cases the previous week.

Positive test rates continued to climb. Last week’s rate was 5.4 percent, up from 3.6 percent.

The increase in the test rate isn’t surprising, President C. Scott Green and Provost Torrey Lawrence said last week. Testing is now focused on people showing symptoms, or people who have been in close contact with someone who is sick. “We are testing fewer people overall with the increase in vaccinations,” they wrote in a memo to the campus community.

Since August, the U of I has reported 899 positive tests on campus. 

Decreasing

Brigham Young University-Idaho. On Sunday, BYU-Idaho reported seven active cases involving students, down from a total of nine cases on April 25.

For the school year, BYU-Idaho has reported 2,572 cases, including 793 cases this semester.

Boise State University. Six cases for the seven-day period ending Thursday, down from 17 cases from the previous week. Four of the new cases involved off-campus students and two involve residential students.

The test positivity rate inched upward to 1.4 percent, compared to 1.3 percent the previous week. All 153 campus isolation beds were vacant Friday.

Since August, Boise State has reported 1,584 campus cases.

Idaho State University. For the seven-day period ending Tuesday, ISU reported three new cases, down from six the previous week. All three cases involved students, two on the Pocatello campus.

ISU has reported a total of 1,146 cases for the school year.

College of Western Idaho. CWI has reported two new cases, down from four cases the previous week. CWI has reported a total of nine cases in April, and 37 cases since January.

North Idaho College. Two self-reported cases last week, both involving students, down from three cases the previous week. Since July, 320 students and employees have self-reported a positive test.

Lewis-Clark State College. Lewis-Clark reported one active case Friday, involving a student on the Lewiston campus. The college reported two cases the previous week. No students were in isolation housing.

Lewis-Clark has reported 28 confirmed cases since Jan. 4.

College of Eastern Idaho. One case last week, involving a student. CEI reported two cases the previous week, and has reported 203 cases since August.

Northwest Nazarene University. No new cases last week, after two cases the previous week. Seven people were under stay-at-home directives Thursday. NNU has logged a total of 251 cases.

Flat

College of Southern Idaho. No new cases, for the second straight week. Since August, the college has reported 279 cases, including 220 involving students.

Other

The College of Idaho. No current report.

Check Kevin Richert’s blog each Friday for a weekly roundup of statewide coronavirus trends.

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

Get EdNews in your inbox

Weekly round up every Friday