UT COVID-19 Update

March 4, 2022

Campus & Community Trends
UT PCT Participation
Testing by Cohort
This dashboard continues to track and compare weekly PCT testing of undergraduate students (by graduating class), graduate students, and faculty and staff. 
COVID-19 Dashboard
Campus Case Numbers Continue to Decline 
The omicron variant case count and PCT positivity rates continue to decline. As of March 3, active campus case numbers are 131.

Protocols, Policies, Programs
Austin Moves to Stage 2
Officials announced today that Austin-Travis County moved to Stage 2 of the area’s Risk-Based Guidelines. Key indicators continue to improve following the omicron outbreak that peaked in January.
The community transmission rate is down to 59 from well over 1,000 earlier this year. The 7-day moving average of hospital admissions is below the Stage 2 threshold at 14. The last time Austin-Travis County progressed to Stage 2 was in May 2021 before the delta wave took hold.
Masking Guidance
The university continues to monitor conditions in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) update to masking guidance. As conditions improve in the surrounding region, we are closely monitoring data from the campus community to determine when conditions will warrant a change. Our current guidance remains that masks are recommended indoors.
Masks for Employees and Students
UT continues to provide disposable masks at no cost to all staff, faculty, assistant instructors, and teaching assistants who are on campus this semester. CSU business officers should continue requesting PPE for their CSUs through the Procurement and Payment Services PPE ordering process. PPE will be delivered to CSU's through Campus Distribution Services. 
Masks are available for students who need one at the William C. Powers, Jr. Student Activity Center and Texas Union hospitality desks.
FREE COVID-19 Testing for Staff and Faculty
As we have throughout the pandemic, we still offer free testing to every employee on campus. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, please visit the UTHA website for information on testing, which is covered by insurance. If you are symptom-free you can participate in our Proactive Community Testing (PCT) in various locations on campus. Please check the PCT website for locations and times.
Free at-home tests are now available by visiting  COVIDTests.gov and requesting they be delivered to your home.
FREE COVID-19 Vaccines for Staff and Faculty
All staff and faculty can receive vaccines and boosters by going to the Protect Texas Together vaccine webpage and choosing a location. No appointments are necessary in some locations.

From January: Omicron Forecasts Proved Accurate
US News article
Modelers from Texas, Washington Called It
The January forecasts on omicron from Lauren Ancel Meyers and other leading epidemiologists are worth revisiting. In light of omicron's decline, they look prescient, reaffirming the accuracy of the science behind the top models. "At the end of this wave, far more people will have been infected by some variant of COVID,” Meyers told U.S. News. “At some point, we’ll be able to draw a line — and omicron may be that point."
  • U.S. News article from Jan. 12

Resources
Daily Symptom Screening
COVID-19 Vaccines and Testing
UT COVID-19 Dashboard
9,784
Total positive cases among students, faculty and staff from 8/26/20 through 3/3/22.
131
Estimated active cases as of 3/2/22, down 70 from 2/24/22.
0.67%
Combined student and faculty/staff PCT positivity rate over the past 7 days (44 positive out of 6,561 total tests)
10.0%
Combined clinical positivity rate among students, faculty, and staff over the past 7 days (14 positive out of 140 tests).
A case is included in the estimated active case counts for 10 days following the date of symptom onset.
protect.utexas.edu
This communication is from Leadership – Official.
View this email online.
The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | 78712 US