By Sophia Lyons
App State identified two coronavirus clusters, associated with a residence hall and a sorority, in an email to faculty, staff and students Sept. 26.
Seven students living in Raven Rocks residence hall tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the last 14 days, and all seven are recovering in active isolation.
Additionally, nine students associated with the Alpha Delta Pi sorority tested positive in a 14-day range, seven of whom are recovering in isolation, and two are past the isolation stage.
AppHealthCare and App State identified and confirmed the clusters based on their common links to the residence hall and sorority and the number of confirmed cases in a 14-day period. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services defines a cluster as a minimum of five cases with initial illness onset or positive results within 14 days and "plausible epidemiological linkage."
Public health staff are identifying and reaching out to "all identified close contacts" of those people with positive tests. A close contact is someone who has been within six feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.
The university's email emphasized the necessity of working with contact tracers and other public health officials to facilitate a quick response from AppHealthCare and App State.
Free drive-up or walk-up testing is available for students, faculty and staff, no appointment necessary, every Saturday in October with a valid AppCard. The Oct. 3 testing will be in the Rivers Street Parking Deck from noon to 5 p.m.