23 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported this week, according to a UChicago Forward email sent to the University community on Friday. The email credited the dramatic decrease in COVID-19 cases to the adherence to the UChicago Health Pact, which resulted in the decision to lift the extended stay at home order at 7 a.m. on April 20.

The positivity rate is .11% this week, down from .60% last week. Currently, 10 students reside in on campus isolation housing and 8 are isolating off-campus. Of the 23 positive cases from this week, 14 close contacts were reported.

This week, the University began lifting restrictions imposed by the stay at home order including reopening library study spaces for undergraduates, resuming in-person classes and opening campus laboratories for research. The University requires that students continue to refrain from unmasked in-person gatherings in order to finish the spring quarter without another outbreak of COVID-19 cases. 

UChicago Medical Center began offering doses of vaccine to students through a random lottery this week. The City of Chicago has moved into Phase 2 of vaccine distribution, under which all residents over the age of 16 are now eligible to receive a vaccine. The University strongly encourages students to receive the vaccine from any available provider, and reminds students that those leaving at the end of spring quarter (June 12) need to receive their first dose no later than May 21. 

“With a growing number of vaccination options in Chicago and around the nation, there should be enough capacity for the majority of University students and employees to be fully vaccinated by the end of June,” Rasmussen wrote in her email.