GV COVID-19 campus data update

The GVSU community has had a cumulative total of 4,305 cases since Aug. 1, 2020. The university’s update for this brief was from Friday, Nov. 19.

Through testing results this past week, GVSU’s Virus Action team have so far reported 190 current active cases including four faculty members, 23 staff members, 19 on-campus students, 77 “off-campus Ottawa” students, 57 “off-campus Kent” students and 10 “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 10 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 83% of students report being fully vaccinated, while approximately 84% of faculty and staff reports being fully vaccinated.

There are currently 2,115 students and 144 faculty/staff with approved vaccination exemptions.

Testing and Incidence: GVSU’s own testing program has performed 108,468 tests overall since Aug. 1, 2020, for a cumulative positivity rate of 1.45% from the latest update as of last week. A total of 1,995 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.

Protesters gather in Grand Rapids

A group of protestors gathered at Rosa Parks Circle on Saturday, Nov. 20 following the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict. Rittenhouse was found not guilty of intentional homicide, reckless homicide, attempted homicide, and two counts of endangering safety. Another charge for possessing a weapon as a minor was also dropped by the judge.

Justice for Black Lives (JFBL), a nonprofit organization founded in Michigan, organized the protest via posts on social media, calling on Grand Rapids residents to join the group. According to FOX17, 5o people were in attendance, including two armed protestors. The event remained peaceful.

GV athletics recognized by Athlete Ally

Athlete Ally, an LGBTQ advocacy group, earned a perfect score on the group’s Athletic Equality Index. Grand Valley State University joins 18 Division I schools in the distinction as the first Division II school to receive the 100% score.

Athlete Ally scores are based on a variety of criteria, including pro-LGBT training for athletes and staff, educational resources, transgender inclusion, nondiscrimination and sexual harassment policies, as well as fan code of conduct and partnerships.