COVID-19 STATUS UPDATE

The health and safety of our students and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic are of paramount importance. Information about COVID-19 active positive cases and Mercyhurst student quarantine and isolation is provided below. Specific details may be limited to preserve health privacy, but we believe it is essential to keep our community as informed as possible during these unprecedented times. Active positive case counts will be updated as quickly as possible after notification, review, and confirmation by the Rapid Response Team. Weekly narratives will be provided each Tuesday. Ad hoc narratives may be issued at the discretion of the Rapid Response Team. Due to the rapidly evolving nature of COVID-19, the data presented below represents the best information available to the university at the time of posting.

Active Positive COVID-19 Cases

Narrative Updates

September 25, 2020

The number of active positive cases has decreased from seven to three student cases and from one to zero employee cases.

September 23, 2020

The number of active positive cases has increased from six to seven student cases. The individual's classification was changed from a close contact quarantine to an active positive case based on additional information that became available during contact tracing efforts by the Erie County Department of Health.

Nineteen students remain in quarantine and four students continued quarantine due to known close contact with a COVID-19-positive individual.

Week of September 14 through September 20, 2020

For the week of September 14 through September 20, 2020, we had five new positive cases and two continuing cases involving a campus exposure.

The number of students who were quarantined due to hotspot or international travel included two newly quarantined individuals and one individual continuing their quarantine from a previous week. Twenty students began quarantine and four students continued quarantine due to known close contact with a COVID-19-positive individual.

Week of September 7 through September 13, 2020

For the week of September 7 through September 14, 2020, we had two positive cases involving a campus exposure.

The number of students who were quarantined due to hotspot or international travel included two newly quarantined individuals and one individual continuing their quarantine from a previous week. No students began quarantine and six students continued quarantine due to known close contact with a COVID-19-positive individual.

Week of August 31 through September 6, 2020

For the week of August 31 through September 6, 2020, we had no active positive cases involving a campus exposure.

The number of students who were quarantined due to hotspot or international travel included one newly quarantined individual and eight individuals continuing their quarantine from a previous week. Seven students began quarantine and six students continued quarantine due to known close contact with a COVID-19-positive individual.

Week of August 24 through August 30, 2020

For the week of August 24 through August 30, 2020, we had no active positive cases involving a campus exposure.

The number of students who were quarantined due to hotspot or international travel included eight newly quarantined individuals and 12 individuals continuing their quarantine from a previous week. Four students began quarantine and eight students continued quarantine due to known close contact with a COVID-19-positive individual.

Important Definitions

Active Positive Case

An active positive case is an individual who appears to meet the criteria defined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and adopted by the CDC or has been identified as such by the Erie County Department of Health or other applicable county or state health department.

Campus Exposure

Under an April 15, 2020, Pennsylvania Department of Health Order, actions must be taken if the university was exposed to a Probable or Confirmed case. Campus Exposure will be determined to have occurred when an individual with a Probable or Confirmed case was physically present on a university campus or in a university-occupied building within two days prior to illness onset (or, for asymptomatic individuals, two days prior to positive specimen collection). Mercyhurst reports any cases suspected to be positive to the Erie County Department of Health, which makes the official designation of a Probable or Confirmed case.

Close Contact

For COVID-19, a Close Contact is defined as any individual who was within 6 feet of an active positive case for at least 15 minutes starting from two days before symptom onset (or, for asymptomatic individuals, two days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the individual is isolated. It may also include an individual who had unprotected, direct contact with infectious secretions or excretions of a person with Confirmed COVID-19 in the same time periods listed above.

Hotspot State

A hotspot state is defined as any state that is designated on Pennsylvania's COVID-19 travel advisory. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recommends that individuals coming from these states quarantine for 14 days upon entering Pennsylvania.

Isolation

Isolation keeps someone who is currently ill with COVID-19, or someone who is asymptomatic but tested positive for it, away from others, even in their own home. It serves much of the same function as quarantine. The time frame for remaining in isolation is determined by current CDC guidance.

Quarantine

Quarantine refers to the practice of separating individuals who have had close contact with someone with COVID-19 or have been present in a hotspot state or international destination to determine if they develop symptoms or test positive for the disease.

Important Note

The information on this page focuses on active positive cases involving a campus exposure that have been directly reported to the university or have been identified through contact tracing or linkage of students/employees to community testing resources. At any given time, Mercyhurst employees may be quarantining off campus upon advice from their own medical providers or as required under university policy. Active positive cases involving a campus exposure are being managed in accordance with the university's policies and procedures; for more information, please review our Policies and Procedures webpage.