GV COVID-19 campus data update

The GVSU community has had a cumulative total of 4,067 cases since Aug. 1, 2020. The university’s update for this brief was from Friday, Nov. 5.

Through testing results this past week, GVSU’s Virus Action team have so far reported 91 current active cases including five faculty members, 10 staff members, 10 on-campus students, 28 “off-campus Ottawa” students, 29 “off-campus Kent” students and nine “off-campus other” students with active COVID-19 cases.

“Current active cases” is the count of positive cases reported to the Virus Action Team over the past ten days.  This is an estimate of those currently in isolation, assuming a ten-day symptomatic period following the reporting of a positive test result. Actual periods of isolation are specific to the individual and determined by the county health department.

Vaccination: GVSU encourages all students, faculty and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible. All students, faculty and staff are required to be fully vaccinated, barring a medical or religious exemption or postponement. According to the COVID-19 data dashboard, an 80% vaccination rate in the GVSU community is required to reach herd immunity and minimal virus transmission.

Currently, approximately 82% of students report being fully vaccinated, while approximately 84% of faculty and staff reports being fully vaccinated.

There are currently 2,098 students and 144 faculty/staff with approved vaccination exemptions.

Testing and Incidence: GVSU’s own testing program has performed 104,923 tests overall since Aug. 1, 2020, for a cumulative positivity rate of 1.8% from the latest update as of last week. A total of 1,498 tests were performed over the last seven days.

“GV Surveillance” includes the GV/Spectrum administered programs of randomized testing, regular testing of high-risk groups, and invited testing of individuals connected to potential clusters. A calendar is available. “GV Total” includes surveillance testing plus all symptomatic/exposure tests administered by Spectrum.

President Mantella dedicates Canter for Interprofessional Health

In a ceremony on Nov. 3, President Mantella officially dedicated the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health.

The Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) is the second building in GVSU’s Health Campus expansion, which began in 2018 with the opening of Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall. The DCIH opened in May in GVSU’s health campus in Grand Rapids.

Mantella said the DCIH offers opportunities for health-related and adjacent majors, as well as community partners. The 17 classrooms and 12 interactive laboratories at the DCIH have enhanced student performance and garnered attention from programs across the country.