The University reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 this week, according to a UChicago Forward email sent to the University community Friday, April 30. There are 15 close contacts associated with the new cases.

Five of the cases were identified from UChicago’s off-campus Surveillance Testing program, bringing this week’s positivity rate to 0.11 percent in that population. Currently, three students are living in on-campus isolation housing, with 10 isolating off-campus. The University received 25 UCAIR reports this week. 

Fully vaccinated students living in on-campus housing may now opt out of weekly testing, which was previously mandatory, by displaying a completed vaccination card at their assigned testing site. Students who experience symptoms of COVID-19 are still required to self-isolate and arrange for prompt testing, either by calling Student Wellness at (773) 834–9355 or the UCMedical triage hotline at (773) 702–2800. 

Despite new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that eased outdoor masking requirements among vaccinated individuals, the email wrote that the requirements of the UChicago Health Pact “have not changed,” still requiring all members of the University community to mask while indoors or while within six feet of others. “Such uniform policies remain necessary to ensure broad compliance, especially since many members of the campus community have not yet been vaccinated,” the email wrote.