Southern Methodist University (SMU) lowered its operational level from “High” to “Moderate” Monday as COVID-19 cases and isolation occupancy trended downward over the past week. SMU originally raised its operational level from “Moderate” to “High” Sept. 7 after active cases exceeded 200 and isolation occupancy exceeded 50%.
Reported cases at SMU have gone down dramatically. After reaching a high of 176 reported cases the week of Sept. 6, last week saw a 52.1% decrease for a total of 83 reported cases.
#BREAKING: #SMU lowers its operational levels to "Moderate" as reported #COVID19 cases at #SMU trend downwards. See the full @dailycampus dashboard: https://t.co/kJ0dFIgHHu pic.twitter.com/N50DSGnHoB
— The Daily Campus (@thedailycampus) September 22, 2020
Alongside lowered case numbers, SMU has also increased its isolation capacity from 127 to 147 beds. In turn, isolation capacity fell from 44% to 24% from Sept. 13 to Sept. 20. Active cases fell from 261 to 164 over the same time period.
As cases started spiking during the first weeks of school, President R. Gerald Turner reiterated in a Sept. 4 email that the rise was “anticipated” and the university was “aggressively isolating positive cases and quarantining those who came into close contact with infected individuals.”
President Turner continued that the university was “grateful for [student] efforts to abide by the Pledge to Protect and wear face coverings or masks, wash your hands frequently and maintain a distance of at least 6 feet when you are gathered together. Science tells us that these steps stem the spread of the virus.”
