Columbus State COVID cases decline but faculty say ‘necessary safeguards’ aren’t in place
Columbus State University is one of multiple Georgia colleges seeing a decline in COVID-19 cases on its campus, according to the University System of Georgia.
Two weeks ago, CSU faculty led a demonstration calling for tighter coronavirus protocols on campus. The demonstration followed an open letter from acting USG Chancellor Teresa MacCartney that stood by the system’s current COVID guidelines in response to concerns from CSU faculty.
“The declines come as USG institutions statewide have ramped up vaccination campaigns for their campus communities and stressed continuing health and safety protocols,” the news release from USG says.
As of Sept. 13, there were 29 active cases of COVID-19 at CSU, according to the school’s self-report tracking page. Students accounted for 27 of the cases and two were employees, according to a news release from CSU. This represents 0.3% of the university’s total population.
This is a decline from 43 active, self-reported cases on Sept. 6, Gregory Hudgison, director of communications at CSU, said in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer. The current number of active cases is similar to the total in mid-August when classes began.
“Outside a spike reported on Sept. 6 as part of our weekly updates, active, self-reported positive cases this fall have hovered in the mid-20s to mid-30s,” Hudgison said.
Additionally, there were 47 cases of people who have been exposed to someone who had COVID-19 or tested positive, but have not test positive themselves. Another 15 individuals reported having COVID-type symptoms but haven’t tested positive.
CSU is not requiring vaccination data from students and employees so it doesn’t know know the percentage of the community that has been vaccinated, Hudgison said.
The push to get students vaccinated is slowly gaining momentum, Curtis Walker, president of CSU’s Student Government Association, said in an email. He credits CSU’s vaccination days for making the process simpler.
“When it comes to students’ willingness to get vaccinated, I would say it is split rather evenly,” Walker said.
There are students who still have questions about the vaccine and aren’t comfortable getting a shot. Students who have been vaccinated or plan to do so can quickly to lower their chances of contracting the virus, he said.
“I have not heard of any students, as of yet, who completely refuse to get vaccinated,” Walker said.
As of Sept. 16, 42% of Muscogee County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 36% of residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Georgia Department of Health.
More than 313,000 COVID-19 tests have been sent to USG campuses, the release said, but that figure does not include tests campuses get on their own or done in partnership with local providers. USG committed to soon distributing an additional 50,000 tests.
Students are only tested upon request, Hudgison said. The Student Health Services is among a number of local options where students can get tested, he said, adding that students and employees may also seek off-campus opportunities for testing as well.
Is self-reporting reliable?
CSU professors led a demonstration on Sept. 3 asking USG to allow the university to implement mask and vaccine mandates, create more social distancing in classrooms, allow faculty to temporarily move classes online and have more testing and contact tracing. The demonstration was led by the CSU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
“There’s still no mask or vaccine mandate, and social distancing isn’t possible in filled classrooms, labs and studios,” Brian Schwartz, president of the CSU chapter of AAUP, said in an email. “ Also, we’re not doing surveillance testing, which has been identified as being necessary for having classes in-person on a large scale.”
The CSU administration agreed to report historical data that allows them to see current data in context of the entire pandemic, Schwartz said, but that is too limited because it’s based on voluntary self-reports and not surveillance testing.
Hudgison said the university employs a thorough contact tracing protocol in response to self-reports, like recommending quarantining and isolation, while finding ways for students to learn virtually and employees to work remotely during that time.
“We don’t know what to make of the system-wide data,” he said. “Personally, I’m encouraged when the number of cases in the community is low and hospitals aren’t overwhelmed with cases.”
Schwartz said morale among faculty has been low and will likely remain that way due to what they see as USG having a lack of care for employees. But since the demonstration, he said AAUP has received a lot of support from faculty, students and alumni.
Since the demonstration, the university has extended on-campus vaccination clinics into November, Hudgison said. The school continues to promote USG-recommended public health best practices among students, employees and visitors like getting vaccinated, wearing masks, frequent hand washing and maintaining physical space in large-group settings.
The Student Government Association along with CSU’s COVID-19 Task Force is in the process of planning an open forum for students, faculty and staff to ask questions and voice concerns about COVID-19, Walker said.
“With the right safeguards in place — masks, vaccines and social distancing — CSU could safely offer in-person instruction on a large scale, regardless of the situation around us,” Schwartz said. “But we don’t have the necessary safeguards in place.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
