This is Bwog’s weekly Roundup of how COVID is progressing in the Columbia community.

At Columbia

This week, there were 7604 students tested with 18 tests coming back positive for a 0.24% positivity rate. The positivity rate is down from last week’s positivity rate of 0.41%. 872 faculty and staff members were tested with 1 test coming back positive for a 0.11% positivity rate. This positivity rate is down from last week’s positivity rate of 0.50%

This puts Columbia at the current alert level of “low risk (yellow)” which means non-academic gatherings have capacity limits and “other gatherings” are restricted. Columbia has lifted visitor/ guest restrictions in dorms and has allowed students to sign in one guest with a Green Pass and is a CUID holder. Indoor capacity limits will be lifted starting November 1st.

Columbia has not released data on how many students are in isolation and quarantine.

*Notes on the graph: Bwog calculated these positivity rates using the posted amount of positive and total tests in all students for a given week. Columbia does not differentiate graduate and undergraduate students in its count, so graduate students will be counted in the positivity rates from week to week. Numbers may change from week to week as Columbia continues to update their data.

At Barnard

This week, there were 3249 tests conducted with 1 test coming back positive for an overall 0.03% positivity rate. Non-residential students had a 0% positivity rate, and residential students had a 0.06% positivity rate. This week’s total positivity rate is down from last week’s positivity rate of 0.06%. 5 people are in isolation.

Since August 8th, 2020, Barnard has conducted 96,582 tests with 209 being positive for a 0.22% positivity rate.

*Notes on the graph: Bwog calculated these positivity rates using the posted amount of positive and total tests in all students, residential and non-residential for a given week. For all students in the week of October 11th, 1 test came back positive out of 2,630 tests. Barnard does not report a positivity rate for all students so Bwog did an internal calculation. Numbers may change from week to week as Barnard continues to update their data. Check the week of Sep 13-19’s roundup for more details on how Barnard calculates their positivity rate.

In NYC

The daily average positivity rate in NYC over the past 28 days is 2.41%. This marks a decreasing trend.

Currently, all residents 12 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine in New York.

In New York State, 14,164,010 residents (70.6% of the population) have received one dose of the vaccine, and 12,774,675 residents (63.9% of the population) have completed their vaccine series. In New York City, 6,821,987 residents received one dose and 6,099,208 have completed their vaccine series. If you need help finding a vaccine appointment, try this link, this link, or your local pharmacy. 

New York City is continuing to open up but with vaccine caveats. As of August 17th, through the Key to NYC campaign, all vaccine- eligible residents (people 12 and older) must show proof of at least one dose of an FDA emergency-use authorized COVID-19 vaccine to be able to enjoy indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment spaces. To show proof of vaccination, New Yorkers can show a photo of their CDC vaccination card, the physical CDC vaccination card, NYC COVID Safe App, Excelsior Pass/ Excelsior Pass Plus, or have a photocopy of a different immunization record that includes your healthcare provider. 

Science Editor Sarah Braner contributed to this report.

Header Illustration by Ava Morouse

Graphs via Flourish