Rider coronavirus positive cases once again in single digits
By Austin Ferguson
Rider university’s COVID-19 case, quarantine and isolation numbers were once again in the single digits as the university draws near the end of the semester, Rider’s online COVID-19 dashboard reported on April 20.
The university dashboard reported six new positive cases of COVID-19 between April 12 and 18, which is up from one positive case reported the week prior.
Rider’s decreased positive numbers related to COVID-19 are coupled with increased testing numbers on campus. The university reported two of its five largest weeks in terms of testing numbers the previous two weeks, reporting 306 and 324 tests respectively.
As of April 20, five students were reported to be in quarantine, with only one being reported as doing so on campus. The number is a decrease from the seven students reported to be in quarantine on April 16, all of whom were doing so off-campus.
According to the online dashboard, six students were reported to be in isolation as of April 20, which is up from four students reported on April 16. On both dates, all isolated students were reported to be doing so off-campus. The back-to-back weeks of a lack of students in isolation on campus were the first span of having no students in isolation on campus since February 19.
The university’s continued decline in COVID-19 numbers mirrors the decline on a statewide level. According to the New York Times, New Jersey’s daily COVID-19 positive case numbers have declined since April 1, when it reported 5,608 new cases.
As of April 19, the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in New Jersey was 3,581, according to the New York Times.
In an email from the university’s COVID-19 implementation team on April 20, Rider announced that it will offer self-administered, free rapid antigen testing for students as they prepare to leave campus for the semester.
According to the email, the nasal swab tests will be administered on May 4, 5 and 6 in Alumni Gym. Tests will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis and do not require an appointment to take, the university email said.
