With a 14-day shelter-in-place recommendation set to end Tuesday, University of Arizona administrators are hoping to keep cases β and off-campus parties β down as they try to mitigate the spread of the virus.
UA officials are working to get the virus to an overall positivity rate of less than 5%. That rate is currently at 6.3%, with more than 2,291 positive tests among students and UA faculty and staff.
UA President Robert C. Robbins on Monday said transmission isnβt happening in the classroom but rather at large, off-campus gatherings.
Robbins said complaints about such gatherings in neighborhoods surrounding the university have decreased.
A Campus Area Response Team, which responds to complaints of parties and large gatherings, responded to 13 properties over the weekend, four fewer than the prior weekend. The team, which includes police and other city departments, also issued fewer red tag violations, fewer citations and fewer student code of conduct referrals than the previous weekend.
The most recent testing data from Friday of 1,051 new tests shows a positivity rate of 3.4%.
βIf case numbers begin to rise again there may be a need to reinstate this self-imposed voluntary quarantine,β Robbins said. βBut if the cases skyrocket again then working with the county health department, more legal quarantine issues may need to be enacted.β
An analysis of Pima County COVID-19 data by the Arizona Daily Star found that the university area has been the cityβs main hot spot since the beginning of September.
The positivity rate for the most recent 10-day testing period is 7.9%, with 708 positives out of almost 9,000 tests administered in that time frame.
Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. surgeon general and professor in the UAβs Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, urged more students to get tested so that the virus is not spreading through people who might be asymptomatic.
He said students might be reluctant to get tested knowing they have to quarantine if they test positive.
βItβs not only about you,β Carmona said. βItβs about preventing you from inadvertently spreading the disease and creating havoc in our community.β
Photos: In Tucson, face masks are for more than just people
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A Jeep sports with eyes like those from the movie "Cars" sports a COVID19 mask outside Alpha Graphics near the corner of Tanque Verde and Kolb, Tucson, Ariz., July 3, 2020.
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The large Tiki head at the entrance of The Hut, 305 N. 4th Ave., wears a mask in response to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Tucson, Ariz., on April 5, 2020.
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The noted bull testicles on the statue outside Casa Molina at Speedway and Wilmot, usually painted in various schemes and wild colors, are in these CONVID19 times now sporting a face mask, March 27, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
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A dinosaur statue over the doors of MATS Dojo at 5929 E. 22nd St., sports an athletic cup for a face mask in the second week of COVID-19 restrictions, March 31, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
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The venerable T-Rex outside the McDonald's at Grant and Tanque Verde comes around late, but strong, to the mask game, May 13, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Face masks on objects
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The iconic Casa Molina bull and matador statue both sported masks on the first full week of the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions in mid-May.
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Father Kino's horse practice safe social interaction by wearing a mask even if Father Kino himself isn't. The statue sits at Cherry Fields at 15th Street and Kino Boulevard, Saturday, May 2, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
