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

At Columbia

This week, there were 4223 students tested with 18 tests coming back positive for a 0.43% positivity rate. The positivity rate is down from last week’s positivity rate of 0.75%. 939 faculty and staff members were tested with 0 tests coming back positive for a 0.00% positivity rate. This positivity rate is down from last week’s positivity rate of 0.29%.

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.

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

*Notes on the graph: Bwog calculated these positivity rates simply 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 3344 tests conducted with 5 tests coming back positive for a 0.17% positivity rate. Non-residential students had a positivity rate of 0.42% while residential students had a positivity rate of 0.11%. This week’s positivity rate is down from last week’s positivity rate of 0.12%. 21 people are in isolation.

Since August 8th, 2020, Barnard has conducted 89,205 tests with 204 being positive for a 0.23% positivity rate.

*Notes on the graph: Bwog calculated these positivity rates simply 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 27th, 5 tests came back positive out of 2,690 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 rates.

In NYC

Currently, all residents 16 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine in New York.

In New York State, 13,956,505 residents (69.6% of the population) have received one dose of the vaccine, and 12,515,025 residents (62.7% of the population) have completed their vaccine series. In New York City, 6,698,411 residents received one dose and 5,944,167 have completed their vaccine series. If you need help finding a vaccine appointment, try using this link (step by step guide here), testing your luck at Lerner, this link, and this link

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 by Ava Morouse

Graphs made with Flourish