The University of South Carolina now has 557 active coronavirus cases as of Thursday, with 553 of those being students, according to USC’s COVID-19 dashboard.
This is up from 380 cases, which President Bob Caslen announced at a board of trustees meeting Thursday afternoon. The university saw 169 new cases on Wednesday and 210 new cases on Thursday.
The campus alert level has moved up to “low,” which is the second-lowest level on the alert scale. The alert level is calculated using 11 factors, including testing, case burden and quarantine/isolation capacity.
The quarantine and isolation dorms have 35.1% of their capacity in use currently, or 100 spaces. This is up from 12.6%, or 36 spaces, on Tuesday.
The isolation dorm, Bates West, is where students who have tested positive for COVID-19 are staying. The quarantine building, which is the National Advocacy Center, is where students who have come into contact with a COVID-19 positive person are staying.
The total percent positive rate for Wednesday and Thursday combined is 12.7%. This includes students and university employees tested.
The COVID-19 dashboard will be updated every Tuesday and Friday.