MTU Flex Updates Blog

Author: Megan Ross

MTU Flex Team Summary for the Week Ending October 15, 2021

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by MTU Flex Task Force

Our moving 14-day total of detected COVID-19 cases stands at 29 active cases confirmed on campus. Houghton County has a seven-day average of 16 confirmed cases per day (as of Oct. 13). 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. Less than 15 percent of our on-campus isolation space is currently occupied. 

We greatly appreciate all those who help keep our campus safe by volunteering, particularly the EMS student team who have been working in the University’s COVID-19 Testing Lab. We owe you a debt of gratitude for your time and service.

Thank you to those who have self-reported at-home antigen tests. If you’re interested in antigen testing, the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) is providing free antigen tests and vaccination clinics in October. More information is available on our COVID-19 Testing Information web page.

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees in the Datolite Room at the MUB on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. 

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.

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MTU Flex Team Summary for the Week Ending October 8, 2021

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by MTU Flex Task Force

Our moving 14-day total of detected COVID-19 cases stands at 25 active cases confirmed on campus. Houghton County has a seven-day average of 14 confirmed cases per day (as of Oct. 6). 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. Less than 10 percent of our on-campus isolation space is currently occupied. 

We greatly appreciate those who have self-reported at-home antigen tests. If you’re interested in antigen testing, the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) is providing free antigen tests and vaccination clinics in October. More information is available on our COVID-19 Testing Information web page.

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees in the Datolite Room at the MUB on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. 

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.

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MTU Flex Team Summary for the Week Ending October 1, 2021

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by MTU Flex Task Force

Our moving 14-day total of detected COVID-19 cases continues to be low, with 20 active cases confirmed on campus. Houghton County has a seven-day average of nine confirmed cases per day (as of Sept. 29). 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. Less than 10 percent of our on-campus isolation space is currently occupied. 

We greatly appreciate those who have self-reported at-home antigen tests. If you’re interested in antigen testing, the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) is providing free antigen tests and vaccination clinics in October. More information is available on our COVID-19 Testing Information web page.

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees in the Datolite Room at the MUB on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. 

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.

Continue Reading →

MTU Flex Team Summary for the Week Ending September 24, 2021

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by MTU Flex Task Force

Our moving 14-day total of detected COVID-19 cases continues to be low, with 16 active cases confirmed on campus (this number was 47 at this time last year). Houghton County has a seven-day average of eight confirmed cases per day. 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 does not show significant viral presence on campus at this time. Less than 5 percent of our on-campus isolation space is currently occupied. We would like to thank the Husky community for your efforts to continue controlling the spread of COVID-19.

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees in the Datolite Room at the MUB on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. Read more COVID-19 Testing Information on the MTU Flex website. Please be aware that if you are exposed to COVID-19, quarantine guidelines vary depending on vaccination status.

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MTU Flex Team Summary for the Week Ending September 17, 2021

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by MTU Flex Task Force

Our moving 14-day total of detected COVID-19 cases continues to be low, with 11 cases confirmed on campus (this number was 100 at this time last year). Houghton County has a seven-day average of five confirmed cases per day. 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 on-going and does not show significant viral presence on campus at this time. Less than 10% of our on-campus isolation space (roughly 30-room total capacity) is currently occupied. We would like to thank the Husky community for its efforts to continue to control the spread of COVID-19.  

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees in the Datolite Room at the MUB on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. Read more COVID-19 Testing Information on the MTU Flex website. Please be aware that if you are exposed to COVID-19, quarantine guidelines vary depending on vaccination status. 

We don’t expect immediate clarification on a number of President Biden’s testing and vaccination announcements from last week. We will update the University community as soon as we have additional information to share.

We appreciate your continued diligence in following the Health and Safety Level guidelines and for helping to keep the community safe. 

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Modifications to Health and Safety Level Two

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by MTU Flex Task Force

In August, as we prepared for students’ return to campus and factored in the uncertainty of the delta variant, our campus moved to Health and Safety Level Two, expecting to stay there for at least five weeks to monitor the spread of COVID-19 within our community. During these five weeks, you all did your part extraordinarily well—the number of confirmed cases on campus and the amount of virus detected in campus wastewater remains low thanks to you.

However, the situation in our local community is less clear. The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department and local health professionals continue to see the ongoing presence of the virus. While we would very much like to move the campus back to Health and Safety Level One, a somewhat more cautious route is appropriate at this time.

Therefore, Michigan Tech will move to a modified Level Two starting Saturday, September 18. Face coverings will still be required in classrooms and laboratories during classes and lab courses, and in the library. Face coverings may also be required during faculty office hours at the discretion of the individual faculty member. In all other settings, face coverings will be encouraged but not required. Face covering requirements for fully vaccinated close contacts, as listed in our Quarantine Guidelines, will remain in place.

Please allow time for the signage around campus to catch up—and remember that our MTU Flex plan is structured to be responsive to fluctuations in case count and other factors related to COVID-19. As always, should the local and/or on-campus variables change, we will reevaluate our Health and Safety Level accordingly.

We appreciate your continued diligence in following the Health and Safety Level guidelines and helping keep the community safe.

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MTU Flex Team Summary for the Week Ending September 10, 2021

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by MTU Flex Task Force

Our moving 14-day total of detected COVID-19 cases continues to be low, with less than 10 cases confirmed on campus. Cases remain low in Houghton County as well, with a seven-day average of two confirmed cases per day. Please continue to report positive test results using the Report a COVID-19 Test form.

Our wastewater testing program is on-going and does not show significant viral presence on campus at this time. Our on-campus isolation space is currently unoccupied. We would like to thank the Husky community for its efforts to continue to control the spread of COVID-19.

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees in the Datolite Room at the MUB on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. Read more COVID-19 Testing Information on the MTU Flex website. Please be aware that if you are exposed to COVID-19, quarantine guidelines vary depending on vaccination status.

We are aware of the announcements made yesterday by President Biden regarding vaccination and testing, and we are waiting to read the various orders being prepared on those issues. We will update the University community as soon as we have additional information to share.

We appreciate your continued diligence in following the Health and Safety Level guidelines and for helping to keep the community safe.

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MTU Flex Team Summary for the Week Ending September 3, 2021

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by MTU Flex Task Force

Now that the fall semester has begun, we’re pleased to resume our weekly updates regarding the University’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wastewater testing is underway and will be an important part of our multipronged mitigation effort this fall. The positive COVID-19 case count for our campus community will be updated weekly on the MTU Flex website. We ask that you please report positive test results using the Report a COVID-19 Test form.

We’ve received questions regarding the protocols for isolation and quarantine. Please refer to the Quarantine Guidelines Flowchart and send questions to mtuflex@mtu.edu. All on-campus isolation space is currently unoccupied.

We were pleased to see our on-campus vaccination clinics run smoothly this week. Thank you to those who participated. We will look into hosting more clinics once we have more information about the availability of a third-dose booster to the general public.

We appreciate your continued diligence in following the Health and Safety Level guidelines and for helping to keep the community safe.

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COVID Testing Starts Aug. 30 in MUB Datolite Room

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by University Marketing and Communications

Starting Monday (Aug. 30), Michigan Tech will offer free, walk-in COVID-19 testing on campus for students and employees during the fall 2021 semester.

Testing will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in the Datolite Room at the MUB. 

No appointments are needed for walk-in testing, and tests are available to any student or employee, whether they have COVID-19 symptoms or not.

If you would like to be tested, come to the Datolite Room during testing hours and ask for a test. Your results should be available in approximately 24 hours, and will be emailed to you.

If you have a question about COVID-19 testing at Michigan Tech, check the MTU Flex Testing web page for up-to-date information and answers to frequently asked questions, or email mtuflex@mtu.edu. 

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COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics: Aug. 24, Sept. 1, and Sept. 2

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by MTU Flex Task Force

We’re pleased to let you know that Michigan Tech will be offering COVID-19 vaccine clinics for students and employees, in partnership with the Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center (UGL). The clinics will take place on August 24, September 1, and September 2 in the Rozsa Center Lobby from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Please note that the August clinic occurs during Orientation Week.

Both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be available at all three clinics—participants will be able to choose which to receive. UGL staff will administer the vaccine. Employees and students who have already received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine can receive their second dose at the clinic.

Please send questions about the MTU vaccine clinics to mtuflex@mtu.edu. For information about COVID-19 vaccine availability in the western Upper Peninsula, including where to get the Pfizer vaccine, check out the Copper Country Strong website. Please reach out to a local health care provider, no pre-existing relationship required, if you are interested in a third-dose booster.

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