The prevalence of COVID-19 on the UNI campus remained relatively low last week, with only a slight increase in the campus positivity rate. 

According to data released Friday, Feb. 12 at noon, the 46 tests conducted from Feb. 8-14 through the Student Health Center resulted in less than six positive cases, for an 8.7% campus positivity rate. This is an increase of less than 3% from last week’s rate of 6.06%.

Furthermore, the positivity rate may decrease slightly today when the Student Health Center updates last week’s data to include any tests conducted on Friday. Since the end-of-week updates only include data collected through Thursday, Friday numbers are added to the weekly total by noon on the following Monday and are therefore not included in the NI’s weekly analysis.

The university also reported seven self-reported student cases of COVID-19 from Feb. 8-12, with no self-reported cases from faculty. However, these self-reported cases may also be counted in the Student Health Center weekly totals and therefore, the numbers cannot be combined for a grand total.

Also last week, UNI emphasized that despite the removal by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds of many of the state’s COVID-19 regulations, precautions on campus will continue. Effective last Sunday, Feb. 7, Reynolds lifted a statewide mask mandate and eliminated many capacity restrictions for businesses and gatherings.

“Masks will continue to play an important role on our campus,” wrote John Vallentine, Associate Provost for Faculty, in a campus-wide email in which he noted that mask mandates are still in effect for Cedar Falls, Waterloo and the UNI campus. “Research has shown that masks are one of the most effective tools in combating the spread of COVID-19. We anticipate they will be required on campus for the foreseeable future.”