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Increased Fall Testing and Vigilance

The university substantially increased surveillance testing capacity later in the fall, with testing of on-campus students, faculty and staff conducted at the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center.

During late October, as COVID-19 cases began to climb rapidly in Cuyahoga County and around the country, Case Western Reserve University did not see comparable increases. But keeping the campus safe and healthy required increased vigilance and a willingness to adapt to new developments.

To quickly boost the volume of testing to include faculty and staff—and to test students more frequently— the university engaged Vault Health for saliva tests for the novel coronavirus. Separately, University Health Services continued using tests from local hospitals for symptomatic or exposed individuals.

When surging cases prompted Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to declare a statewide curfew starting Nov. 19, the university dramatically reduced the number of staff and faculty on campus—and required weekly COVID-19 tests for everyone who was (including the roughly 300 students who remained after in-person courses ended Nov. 20). From Nov. 23-Dec. 13, the university administered 5,745 tests—more than twice the total for August's move-in testing period.