COVID-19 cases are on the decline following a surge on the Medford/Somerville campus. The university reported 25 new cases on Friday, down from 79 new cases on April 12, when Tufts set a record for the most positive cases reported in a single day. The previous record was set on Jan. 3 and April 8, when the university reported 68 cases in one day.
The average number of positive COVID-19 tests per day has declined almost 35% with an average of 32 students testing positive per day in the week before Friday. This on-campus rise in cases comes as COVID-19 numbers see slight improvements across the county and the state. Cases have gone down by around 3% in Middlesex County and around 4% in Massachusetts over the past week. A total of 322 individuals were in isolation on Friday, with many students reporting that they have been instructed to isolate at an off-campus hotel or in their dorm rooms.
Tufts announced new COVID-19 isolation procedures in an email to the university-wide community on April 13 as The Mods and hotel rooms used for isolation neared capacity. If The Mods or hotel isolation options are full by the time a student tests positive, their quarantine procedure will depend on where they live. The university announced that some students may be asked to isolate themselves in their on-campus residences.
