UNC Reports New COVID-19 Cluster at Residence Hall, First Since February

UNC reported a new COVID-19 cluster detected at Hinton James Residence Hall on the Chapel Hill campus on Thursday.

This is the fifth COVID-19 cluster identified at UNC in 2021 and the first since February. Two COVID-19 clusters were detected on UNC’s campus in February, per the university’s Carolina Together website.

A “cluster” is defined by health officials as a five or more cases that are deemed close proximity in location – such as in a single residential hall.

UNC’s COVID-19 dashboard shows that 754 students and 173 employees have tested positive since January 2021.

Overall, the university is reporting a 0.4 percent positivity rate from on campus testing (597 tests have returned positive from 158,363 tests overall).

Under UNC’s new testing program for the spring semester, asymptomatic students living in Chapel Hill or Carrboro are required to get tested once per week at one of three UNC testing locations. Students living on campus or taking in person courses are to be tested twice per week.

According to the university, the individuals in this cluster have been identified and are isolating and receiving medical monitoring. UNC has also notified the Orange County Health Department and is working with them to identify additional potential exposures. 

UNC began vaccinating students on March 31, with 2,000 doses of the J&J vaccine allocated the first week and another 2,000 for the following week of April 7-13.

Following FDA and CDC recommendations to “pause” J&J vaccination on April 13, the Carolina Student Vaccination Clinic will resume vaccination appointments on Friday, April 16, using the Moderna vaccine.

Featured image via Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill.

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