Area colleges put students to the test

Four weeks after Gov. Mike DeWine announced that he was asking all residential colleges and universities to test 3% of their student population for the novel coronavirus, area schools say that, for the most part, testing has indeed been available. The University of Findlay held another testing day on Thursday with the Ohio National Guard. Tests were for faculty, staff and students and were conducted "on a voluntary basis," said Dave Emsweller, vice president of student affairs, through a spokeswoman. He said COVID-19 tests sent by the state had just arrived. The university expects to have a plan to disperse these tests this week. The university's COVID-19 dashboard, with information updated on Oct. 17, shows a total of 1,007 tests completed so far, including 26 community members. Of these, 50 people tested positive, including two community members. Testing began in June. The information on the most recent week indicates six positive active cases within the UF community. Ohio Northern University "is randomly selecting and testing 3% of its campus population — students, employees and affiliates — weekly. In addition to the 3%, we are testing persons who are symptomatic," according to a statement from a spokeswoman. The tests are being conducted through the ONU HealthWise clinic, and the university has an on-campus laboratory that processes the tests. "Positive cases are increasing slightly on campus due to a small cluster of students and staff members associated with two athletic teams," the statement continues. "As a result, ONU has paused all athletic activities through Sunday, Oct. 25, when this decision will be reassessed. Despite these increases, the overall number of active cases is still relatively small and enables us to safely continue with in-person education at present." ONU's dashboard reports that 5.3% of tests in the most recent week, beginning Oct. 11, came back positive. That is eight out of 151 tests. The positivity rate was 1.2% or less each of the previous four weeks. The eight positive cases include four students and four employees, according to the dashboard. ONU reports it has "adequate testing supplies" for the rest of this semester, and is looking at options to replenish its materials in the spring. Bluffton University reports testing over 3% of its students population. "Because we are offering athletics this fall and are following the NCAA resocialization guidelines for athletics, we are testing well above the three percent recommendation," said Phill Talavinia, vice president of student affairs and athletics at Bluffton, also through a spokeswoman. He added that relationships with the village of Bluffton and the Allen County Health Department have proven "very valuable" during the pandemic. Bluffton "identified a testing partner early on through the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. They have provided plenty of tests and the timeline in receiving results is always within the 24-48 hours window of what they said it would be." University President Jane Wood, in a campus letter available on the university's website, said Bluffton has had "fewer than a handful" of cases test positive, but recently had "a very small number of positive tests results in two of our athletic teams," and had quarantined the men's and women's basketball teams for 14 days "out of an abundance of caution." "Please remember that behind every positive test result is a much-cared for member of our community," the letter states. Both Hardin and Allen counties — where ONU and Bluffton, respectively, are located — are now red in the state's color-coded public health advisory system related to the pandemic.