This is Bwog’s weekly Roundup of how COVID-19 is progressing in the Columbia community.

At Columbia

This week, there were 7034 students tested with 11 tests coming back positive for a 0.16% positivity rate. The positivity rate is down from last week’s positivity rate of 0.24%. 801 faculty and staff members were tested with 1 test coming back positive for a 0.12% positivity rate. This positivity rate is slightly up from last week’s positivity rate of 0.11%. 4815 students at the Morningside, Manhattanville, and Lamont-Doherty campuses were tested,  with 6 tests coming back for a 0.12% positivity rate.

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 3290 tests conducted with 3 tests coming back positive for a 0.23% positivity rate. Of the positive tests, 0.00% are non-residential students, 0.31% are residential students, and 0.32% are faculty. This week’s positivity rate is up from last week’s positivity rate of 0.03%. 14 people are in isolation, and 1 is in quarantine.

Since August 8th, 2020, Barnard has conducted 100,286 tests with 213 being positive for a 0.21% 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 September 20th, 6 tests came back positive out of 2,740 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

Currently, all residents 12 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine in New York. An expert committee advising the Food and Drug Administration met on Tuesday, October 26th, and recommended that the Pfizer BioNTech Coronavirus vaccine eligibility be expanded to include 5- 11-year-olds. The FDA is expected to follow the panel’s advice.

In New York State, 14,218,305 residents (70.8% of the population) have received one dose of the vaccine, and 12,843,436 residents (64.3% of the population) have completed their vaccine series. In New York City, 6,855,691 residents received one dose and 6,142,628 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. All NYC city workers, excluding uniformed correction officers, are required to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by 5pm on October 29th. There are currently around 46,000 unvaccinated city employees. Those who refuse the vaccine will be placed on unpaid leave until this requirement can be met. All NYPD, FDNY, and DSNY employees will be required to have at least one dose of the vaccine by November 1st. Civilian Department of Correction officers will be subject to this mandate by December 1st. The Department of Education has reached a 96% vaccination rate and NYC Health and Hospital workers have received a 95% vaccination rate. 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, indoor 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. 

COVID Art via Ava Morouse

graphs via Flourish