Ithaca College Notified of Two Positive COVID-19 Cases

By David Maley, September 4, 2020
No exposure on Ithaca College campus.

Ithaca College learned on Friday, Sept. 4, that two Ithaca College graduate students living off campus in Ithaca have tested positive for COVID-19. The students are in isolation in their local residences and are receiving proper care. The Tompkins County Health Department confirms that there was no exposure on the Ithaca College campus from these individuals. These are the first two known positive cases among members of the Ithaca College community since the college announced on August 18 that it would continue with remote instruction for the fall semester.

Due to privacy laws, neither the Tompkins County Health Department nor the college can disclose the names or any other identifying information about these individuals. The health department is conducting contact tracing to determine other possible contacts, and will reach out directly to those individuals if they are determined to be a close contact.

Other known members of the Ithaca College community who were identified as close contacts have tested negative and are currently in quarantine. These individuals are not permitted to access the Ithaca College campus until quarantine is complete and they are released by the Tompkins County Health Department.

The New York State Department of Health defines a close contact as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 10 minutes starting from two days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, two days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.

This incident is not being considered a COVID-19 cluster by the health department.

“This situation illustrates the importance of the contact tracing process in our community to control the spread of COVID-19.”

Christina Moylan, Ithaca College’s director of public health emergency preparedness

Because Ithaca College is conducting instruction remotely this fall, there are minimal numbers of students, faculty, and staff on campus. Before they can access the campus, all students and employees must complete a daily health screening. Weekly surveillance testing is also occurring. Students residing in the Ithaca community but who are not accessing the campus are also being strongly encouraged to undergo COVID-19 testing.

“This situation illustrates the importance of the contact tracing process in our community to control the spread of COVID-19,” said Christina Moylan, Ithaca College’s director of public health emergency preparedness. “We commend our students for their conscientious participation and the work of the public health nurses at the Tompkins County Health Department. We remind all members of the Ithaca College community to be vigilant about adhering to public health recommendations to wear face coverings, maintain six feet of distance, and practice good hand hygiene. Furthermore, if anyone witnesses or experiences an activity or incident involving IC students or employees that raises health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, they can use the Community Agreement Reporting Form to notify the college.”

Ithaca College students experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should contact the Hammond Health Center at 607-274-3177. Faculty or staff who are experiencing symptoms should seek care from their health care provider. If you are symptomatic, please register to seek testing from the Cayuga Health System sampling site at the Shops at Ithaca Mall.

Ithaca College’s Return to Campus website has information related to health and safety practices. The website also includes the just-launched COVID-19 tracking dashboard, which is updated daily Monday-Friday as new test data becomes available. The Tompkins County Health Department website has additional information on COVID-19 public health practices.