John Brown University announced three active COVID-19 cases on Friday, resulting in 18 cumulative cases for the campus.
The three active cases are students, which are isolating off-campus. Twenty-nine students are currently in preliminary observation and awaiting contact tracing, with 25 off-campus and four on campus. Three on-campus students and four off-campus students are awaiting test results.
There are zero active employee cases, but one employee is in quarantine and one is awaiting test results.
The statement, issued by President Chip Pollard, reminded the student body of the importance of social distancing. “Think back over the last 48 hours. Who have you been with for more than 15 minutes within six feet, particularly inside, and without a mask? ….. How many different circles of friends would be involved? You can get to 10-15 close contacts pretty quickly, and all of them would have to spend 14 days at home or in JBU quarantine,” Pollard said.
Pollard also urged students to help bring the ratio of “close contacts” down. “I would encourage you to try and keep the number of people in your ‘risk-zone’ as few as possible because any of us could become ill and test positive, and then our friends are at risk for getting sick or being put into quarantine,” Pollard said. “We all have the same desire to remain on campus in face-to-face instruction.”
After reminding students of safe activities for the weekend, such as the Trivia Battle hosted by Student Events and Activities on Saturday, Pollard closed with a prayer. The requests for “the pressing needs around our country” included recovery from Hurricane Laura and the California wildfires, the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, and the coronavirus pandemic.
“May Christ intervene in each of these situations to bring about his love, justice, mercy, peace and healing in our world, and may he make clear to us the actions that we should take as his followers to carry out his mission,” Pollard said.
For more information about JBU’s COVID-19 response, visit https://www.jbu.edu/health-services/coronavirus/.
Photo: Catherine Nolte, The Threefold Advocate