FIU COVID-19 Cases Double The First Week Of Class

Written by: Valentina Palm/ Editor in Chief & Jordan Coll/ News Director

26 FIU students and seven faculty members had COVID-19 the first week of class, according to the university’s self-reported dashboard. 

The total number of cases doubled from the previous week.

Of the 26 students, 18 live on campus and two professors teach face-to-face.  The week before, the dashboard reported seven students living on campus, and one professor teaching face-to-face had the virus.

Last week, eight students and five faculty members learning or teaching remotely had COVID-19.

The previous week, three students and three faculty members self-reported having the virus.

Here are the dashboard self-reported cases from Aug.17 through Aug.23.

The FIU COVID-19 self-reported cases dashboard launched last week and is updated on Mondays with cases from the previous week. It divides cases into four categories: students living or learning on campus; students learning remotely; faculty/staff working on campus and faculty/staff working remotely.

Cases reflected on the dashboard are self-reported by students and faculty to the Academic and Student Affairs division and the FIU Human Resources division.

The dashboard doesn’t account for the total number of active cases, it only keeps track of cases reported that week, according to Maydel Santana, FIU’s Associate Vice President of Communication and Media Relations

Students going to campus must fill out a questionnaire in the Panthers Protecting Panthers app but it doesn’t report cases to the dashboard, according to Santana.

“It helps members of the community monitor their own health,” wrote Santana in an email to PantherNOW. “Based on responses on a given day, the app may suggest a person needs to stay off-campus and get tested for COVID-19.”

But, the university doesn’t have a way to enforce its use.

“Every member of the university community has a responsibility to do the right thing and help keep each other safe,” wrote Santana.