By Abigail Cloutier
Monday, Youngstown State University updated its COVID-19 dashboard to show 16 cases were reported for the week of Oct. 17. Fifteen of these cases are students, and one is an employee of the university. Only one of these students lives in a residence hall on campus, and all other 14 students live in university apartments or are commuters. This is the second week YSU is in the double digits for coronavirus cases. Previously, the university reported 13 cases for the week of Oct. 10.
YSU does not share information such as names or where students who test positive reside on campus. The Jambar reported that YSU plans to implement randomized, preventative testing on a portion of the campus population by the end of the fall semester. As of now, YSU, in partnership with the National Guard, offers free testing to students every Thursday morning at locations in Youngstown. For the latest updates, visit YSU’s COVID-19 dashboard.
In Mahoning County, there have been 77 new cases since Oct. 21, an average of 11 new cases per day. Mahoning County is in the “red zone,” which the Ohio Department of Health classifies as a Level 3 public emergency. According to the Ohio Public Health advisory system, this is “very high exposure and spread” and residents should “limit activities as much as possible.” Though it is one step away from a “purple zone” and a potential lockdown, Mahoning County does not yet have the amount of emergency department visits, hospital admissions and COVID-19 intensive care unit occupancies to turn the county purple. For the most up-to-date information, visit the Ohio Department of Health’s website.