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all semester Cornell staff&faculty has seen 10 cases of COVID-19, half of those came last week.
what does the data have to say about Cornell's reopening and its latest spike?
some ~ #dataviz ~ and thread
1/x https://cornellsun.com/2020/10/20/student-cases-stay-at-zero-as-cornell-staff-local-residents-account-for-latest-spike/
what does the data have to say about Cornell's reopening and its latest spike?
some ~ #dataviz ~ and thread
1/x https://cornellsun.com/2020/10/20/student-cases-stay-at-zero-as-cornell-staff-local-residents-account-for-latest-spike/
Students have made up the vast majority (129/139) of cases at #cornell, but spread among students has been largely contained — recently seeing 7 days of 0 cases.
At the same time staff+faculty have seem a small spike in cases, which isn't tied to a concentrated cluster.
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At the same time staff+faculty have seem a small spike in cases, which isn't tied to a concentrated cluster.
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this spike among staff+faculty mirrors that of Tompkins + surrounding counties
Despite Cornell cases remaining low TC has seen a notable spike in cases + hospitalizations, seeing its highest number of hospitalizations since march and its first local death
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Despite Cornell cases remaining low TC has seen a notable spike in cases + hospitalizations, seeing its highest number of hospitalizations since march and its first local death
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The last tweet shows an interesting discrepancy btwn Cornell + TC's reporting of testing and positives.
TC's data includes tests and positives from Cornell's sites, but on several days Cornell reports more tests/positives than the county at large.
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TC's data includes tests and positives from Cornell's sites, but on several days Cornell reports more tests/positives than the county at large.
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Zooming out now, NY state has been lauded for its reopening strategy + has come a long way since being the global epicenter of the outbreak.
Cornell has maintained positivity rates under that of the state except for its initial clusters of cases.
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Cornell has maintained positivity rates under that of the state except for its initial clusters of cases.
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While impressive it has to be acknowledged this is partially the result of small sample size + much more testing
Ithaca is 0.525% of NY's population but ~4.5% of the state's tests
NYS includes areas w/ very different pandemic realities — NYC is not the same as upstate
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Ithaca is 0.525% of NY's population but ~4.5% of the state's tests
NYS includes areas w/ very different pandemic realities — NYC is not the same as upstate
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for sake of comparison I wanted to take a look at other schools w/ similar reopening procedures.
@DukeU's testing protocol is nearly identical to Cornell's, with entry testing to start and biweekly surveillance tests w/ anterior nares swabs since
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@DukeU's testing protocol is nearly identical to Cornell's, with entry testing to start and biweekly surveillance tests w/ anterior nares swabs since
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Both schools saw initial spikes in cases as they identified students coming to campus, but over time saw a steady decrease in cases.
Duke's success is a stark contrast to its neighbor, UNC@ Chapel Hill, which was quickly forced to close as it saw an uncontrolled outbreak.
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Duke's success is a stark contrast to its neighbor, UNC@ Chapel Hill, which was quickly forced to close as it saw an uncontrolled outbreak.
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Yale is also using a similar testing strategy, and is Cornell's partner in the Ivy League in starting in-person instruction in Sept
They have seen a higher fluctuation in positivity, but also test less individuals - making their positivity rate more susceptible to spikes
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They have seen a higher fluctuation in positivity, but also test less individuals - making their positivity rate more susceptible to spikes
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Interestingly, Yale's most recent spike in cases was tied to the men's hockey team — mirroring Cornell's first cluster of cases, which was tied to student athletes.
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2020/10/15/yale-covid-19-alert-level-moved-back-to-yellow-amid-recent-outbreak/
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https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2020/10/15/yale-covid-19-alert-level-moved-back-to-yellow-amid-recent-outbreak/
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Overall, this points to the success of asymptomatic screening despite the upward trend in COVID cases across the country
But it comes with costs — Kotlikoff mentioned that this strategy comes at a high price, which not all schools/towns can afford
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cIacaXew6ejB5B46QZnea?si=41Ktwiy1SvWue3_P8i-2jw
11/11
But it comes with costs — Kotlikoff mentioned that this strategy comes at a high price, which not all schools/towns can afford
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cIacaXew6ejB5B46QZnea?si=41Ktwiy1SvWue3_P8i-2jw
11/11
