Cal Poly COVID-19 cases increase as university seeks state guidance for fall term
A total of 19 students, staff or faculty at Cal Poly have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, according to the San Luis Obispo university’s coronavirus information website.
Of those, 14 are students and five are employees, according to the university’s media relations director, Matt Lazier.
Twelve of the cases involve residents of San Luis Obispo County, according to the website.
The university saw its coronavirus case numbers triple in July, from five at the end of June to 18 by the end of July.
Cal Poly’s fall term is set to begin Sept. 14 with mostly virtual learning with a select number of in-person courses, mostly labs and activities.
However, the university is still awaiting more clear guidance from Gov. Gavin Newsom, California State University officials and public health officials to determine what campus will look like in the fall.
“We are cautiously optimistic that, once released, the governor’s guidelines will allow Cal Poly to continue with plans to allow the return of some students and personnel to campus,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said in an email to parents, staff and students. “As soon as we have more direction from the governor and approval of our plans from the CSU, we will share that information.”
In a Monday interview with The Tribune, Armstrong said it will be tough to bring students and staff back on campus for the fall term without seeing additional COVID-19 cases.
“I cringe a little bit when people say we’re going to bring people safely back because, you know, 100% safe is hard to get,” Armstrong said. “So we’re really about minimizing risk.”
The university has tested 311 students with its Campus Health and Wellbeing equipment, according to Lazier.
Cal Poly is following San Luis Obispo County guidelines on COVID-19 testing, as well as testing symptomatic students and those with close contact to individuals with COVID-19 when appropriate, he added.
On Thursday, San Luis Obispo County added 77 cases of coronavirus, the county’s highest single-day case increase yet. That brings the county’s total to 2,047 COVID-19 cases, according to EmergencySLO.org.
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Cal Poly COVID-19 cases increase as university seeks state guidance for fall term."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrected stated who is being tested for COVID-19 by Cal Poly’s Campus Health & Wellbeing. Only university students are being tested on campus.
