by Jordan Green, News Editor
Six Northwestern students have tested positive for the coronavirus, university officials said Monday.
In an email to students, Northwestern President Janet Cunningham said the total number of positive COVID-19 cases among Northwestern students includes cases at all of the university’s campuses, including those in Alva, Enid, and Woodward.
Officials did not identify the students who tested positive for the virus. No university employees have tested positive for the virus, officials said.
Cunningham thanked students for adhering to the school’s safety guidelines and encouraged students to continue wearing face coverings, which they are required to wear inside buildings.
“As we see positive cases reported on campus, we must remember that our reopening task force spent much time establishing policies and procedures to guide our responses,” she said. “We review these policies and procedures often and monitor changes from the CDC, WHO, and local health officials to ensure we are making the best decisions for our campuses. I urge you to allow these policies and procedures to work so that we may remain as healthy as possible.”
University officials will report the number of COVID-19 cases each Friday on the university’s website, Cunningham said. To see the number of cases on all campuses, visit https://www.nwosu.edu/coronavirus/active-covid-19-cases-nwosu.
As of press time Wednesday, the City of Alva had 19 cases of the virus. Eighteen of the people who tested positive for the virus have recovered, data from the Oklahoma State Health Department shows, leaving one active case in the city.
Woods County had 25 positive COVID-19 cases. Twenty-four people have recovered from the virus, leaving one active case in the county.
The State of Oklahoma had 60,118 cases of the virus. Of those cases, 8,651 are active. Statewide, 50,646 people have recovered from the virus, and 821 people have died from it.
The United States has more than six million cases of the virus. More than 184,000 Americans have died from it, and more than two million have recovered from it, health department data shows.
The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is a respiratory illness that originated in China, data from the Centers for Disease Control shows.
Symptoms of the virus include fever, shortness of breath, and dry coughing. Symptoms appear 2 – 14 days after a person has been exposed to the virus, which is transmitted by coughing and touching contaminated surfaces.