John Brown University announced 11 active COVID-19 cases on Friday, September 4, resulting in 26 cumulative cases for the campus.
The 11 active cases are students, with two in isolation on campus and nine isolating off-campus. Two on-campus students and one off-campus student are awaiting test results. One on-campus student and 17 off-campus students are awaiting contact tracing from the Arkansas Department of Health.
There are zero active employee cases, and there are no employees waiting on test results or contact tracing.
John Brown University will be holding classes on Labor Day; however, President Chip Pollard stressed that students need to be cautious during family gatherings on the weekend.
Pollard also mentioned the increased number of cases in Washington County. “Over 80% of those positive cases were college-age people, so it is probable that many of those cases were University of Arkansas students,” Pollard said in the emailed statement. “We encourage you to continue to be careful.”
While stating the importance of health precautions, including hand-washing and wearing masks, Pollard reminded students of the importance of taking care of their spiritual well-being. “I’m not saying that ‘Jesus is our vaccine’ as I have seen on some signs, but I do believe that faith in Jesus does give us spiritual, emotional and practical resources to be resilient in difficult times,” Pollard said. “God hears our prayers whether they be expressions of lament, despair, joy or praise as is made clear in the great range of types of Psalms in scripture.”
He encouraged students to take part in spiritual practices such as prayer, reading scriptures, confession and fasting. “Those spiritual disciplines are certainly more important than washing your hands or wearing a mask, because they define your character for eternity not just protect you from a virus for a year,” Pollard said.
For more information about JBU’s COVID-19 response, visit https://www.jbu.edu/health-services/coronavirus/.