by MTU Flex Task Force
Our moving 14-day total of detected COVID-19 cases stands at 67 active cases confirmed on campus. Houghton County has a seven-day average of 23 confirmed cases per day (as of December 8). Please continue to report positive test results, whether you are using an at-home test or a PCR test outside of our Michigan Tech testing center, using the Report a COVID-19 Test form.
Our wastewater testing program is ongoing and results are consistent with the University’s confirmed case count. Approximately 14 percent of our on-campus isolation space was occupied as of 10 a.m. this morning.
Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday in the Datolite Room at the MUB from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested and no appointment is needed. COVID-19 testing will conclude for the fall semester on December 16 and will resume in the spring semester.
In the spring 2022 semester, COVID-19 samples collected through on-campus testing will begin being processed by the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department’s lab, following the winding down of the Michigan Tech COVID-19 Testing Lab’s operations.
Coming online in the early days of this pandemic, MTU’s testing lab provided critical sample processing at a time when statewide capacity was minimal (many samples from the UP at that time were transported to Lansing for processing). At one point, MTU’s lab processed the most tests per day in the state. The Michigan Tech Flex team extends deep appreciation to the COVID-19 lab team, including but not limited to Caryn Heldt, David Dixon, Cary Gottlieb, Dave Reed, Carsten Kuelheim, Stephen Techtmann, Jennifer Sanders, Cathy Jenich, Karl Meingast, Brooke Goulette, Mike Abbott, Natasha Chopp, Emmett Golde, and Karyn Fay.
Thank you to those who participated in our December 8 vaccination clinic in the Rozsa Center lobby. A follow-up clinic is scheduled for January 12, 2022, also in the Rozsa Center lobby. The January clinic will be open to all faculty, staff, and students, as well as the general public, and a reminder will be emailed when appointments become available. Both the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines will be available for first, second, additional, and booster doses for anyone age 12 or older. Registration information regarding that clinic will be provided soon.
We strongly encourage all members of our community to monitor themselves on a daily basis for symptoms of COVID-19. Please be aware that if you are exposed to COVID-19, quarantine guidelines vary depending on vaccination status.