The COVID-19 testing positivity rate for Ohio State students hit record lows Monday. Students walk into COVID-19 testing at Jesse Owens North Recreation Center. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After four weeks of classes — and two weeks after the resumption of in-person classes — Ohio State’s student population has its lowest positivity rate since testing began in August.
The university’s seven-day average student-positivity rate is 0.45 percent through Sunday, with 128 of 28,294 tests coming back positive in the last week, according to Ohio State’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Ohio State’s lowest seven-day average student-positivity rate in the fall semester was 0.7 percent at the beginning of October. The metric hovered at or below 1 percent for the rest of that month before increasing again following many large gatherings corresponding with Ohio State football games.
Ohio State has conducted 94,243 student COVID-19 tests since the start of spring semester Jan. 11 — as of Sunday, 1,000 of those tests have come back positive. Ohio State conducted 251,929 COVID-19 tests during fall semester.
The on-campus seven-day average positivity rate through Sunday is 0.27 percent and has held below 1 percent since Jan. 25. Students who live on campus are required to be tested weekly, as they were fall semester.
The off-campus seven-day average positivity rate through Sunday is 0.53 percent and has held below 1 percent since Jan. 29. Students who live off campus are required to test weekly as opposed to the random selection method used in the fall.
Ohio State updated its COVID-19 Dashboard design Monday; the new dashboard can be viewed on the university’s website and on The Lantern’s COVID-19 update page.
