The Philadelphia Department of Health (PDPH) is strongly recommending masks in indoor settings again after a rise in covid-19 cases in the city.
Testing data from the PDPH shows an average of 202 new covid cases per day for the week ending Jan. 25, an increase of “less than 50%” over the previous 10 days, according to the PDPH website.
“Upticks in covid-19 are still of concern since we are still seeing significant numbers of deaths and hospitalizations due to covid-19,” said James Kyle, PDPH news media coordinator.
The PDPH draws its data from weekly testing, which is made available every two weeks on the PDPH website.
Getting a clear picture of covid trends on campus is tougher. St. Joe’s covid dashboard, which had been active since 2020, ceased reporting data as of October 2022. The dashboard, which displayed daily estimated positive cases on campus, was a resource for students and staff to keep up-to-date with covid rates.
Colleen Huzinec ’25, said she was shocked when she found out she had tested positive for covid on Jan. 29.
“I haven’t heard of any other students testing positive for covid recently, which is why I was a little surprised to have tested positive myself,” Huzinec said.
Kelly Welsh, assistant vice president of communications, said the decision to end the dashboard was because such a reporting mechanism has become less reliable and presents an incomplete picture.
“By the fall, loosening restrictions, changing recommendations and widespread vaccination significantly shifted testing and reporting protocols and behavior,” Welsh wrote in response to written questions from The Hawk.
Welsh added that St. Joe’s continues to follow guidance from local and government health agencies as it has done since 2020.
Other area universities have also taken down their covid dashboards or made them inactive. Temple University, Villanova University and the University of Pennsylvania no longer have covid dashboards. Drexel University, like St. Joe’s, stopped updating theirs.
Welsh said the university continues to urge community members to test and submit positive results via a self-disclosure form, as a way to monitor infections in
the community.
“We are relying on our community and our collective commitment to its health and well-being,” Welsh said.
Eileen Bevilacqua, RN, director of the Student Health Center, said St. Joe’s provides free covid tests to students who request them.
“All members of the university community must immediately report if they test positive for covid-19 and take appropriate next steps,” Bevilacqua wrote in response to written questions from
The Hawk.
Morgan O’Shea ’25, said she immediately reported her results when she found out she tested positive for covid.
“I know covid is still around, but I didn’t realize it was an issue again,” O’Shea said.
O’Shea said she followed university protocols after reporting her results.
According to a Jan. 20 email to the university community, Ross Radish, J.D., interim vice president of Student Life, said students who test positive must contact a healthcare provider; research next steps for isolation and other mitigation efforts after isolation while still infectious; inform those who need to know about their inability to be in person while in isolation; and communicate with close contacts about their exposure.
On the university’s covid dashboard page, a note reads, “As of October 6, 2022, the Saint Joseph’s University COVID dashboard has been sunset however we will keep the community updated as needed with any trends.”
When asked what constitutes a trend and how the university will inform the community, Welsh responded: “The university has continued to communicate health and safety reminders and new information via email. Though we haven’t needed to do this, we are prepared to communicate on local levels if we see trends.”
