UNE completes initial COVID-19 testing for undergraduate students
After completing testing for 2,074 undergraduate students returning to campus for the start of the fall semester, the University of New England has identified one student from the university’s Portland Campus who has tested positive for COVID-19. No students residing on campus have tested positive.
UNE required all undergraduate students to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before their arrival to campus. Students who tested positive were required to delay their arrival until cleared by a medical professional. Students who tested negative arrived on campus to a check-in process during which they presented their negative results and were administered a second test.
Based on the pre-arrival testing requirement, there were three students who tested positive at home and who have delayed their arrival. None of these students has come to either campus.
The student who tested positive through UNE’s Student Health Center is a commuter student and had not yet attended any classes or labs. UNE received 87 inconclusive tests and will be re-testing those students today. There are approximately 350 commuter students who have yet to arrive on campus and will need to schedule testing at one of the designated check-in times on August 31, September 2, and September 4.
In addition to the student case, UNE’s Office of Human Resources has learned of one employee on the Portland Campus who has tested positive. This individual is in isolation at home, and university officials have notified anyone whom they have identified as a close contact. Following public health protocols, the Maine Centers for Disease Control is conducting contact tracing.
These data have been reviewed by university leadership and health experts, who have determined that the results, in combination with UNE Onward health and safety protocols, indicate that it is appropriate to maintain the university’s current operations at this time.
“We send our best wishes to the student who has tested positive and to those who are in quarantine as a result of contact tracing, and we look forward to welcoming them back to campus soon,” said President James Herbert. “We will provide them with the support needed to continue their studies. We also send our very best wishes to the employee who is recovering.
“Through the initial two-step testing process, we have established a baseline for supporting community health moving forward,” Herbert added. “By following the procedures of the UNE Onward plan, including symptomatic and targeted surveillance testing of our students, we intend to minimize the presence of COVID-19 on campus and address positive cases quickly.”
As part of this process, UNE will post weekly updates about reported positive cases on the UNE Onward website at une.edu/onward-reporting. The web page will be updated each Thursday with the number of new cases that have been reported to the university or that the university has identified through its own testing over the course of the previous week.
University leadership and health experts are monitoring COVID-19 cases and other data to ensure community health and to guide consideration of any needed changes to operations. Should operation plans be changed, updates will be provided to students, faculty, professional staff, and parents via email and will be posted at une.edu/onward.