Cornell University lowered its COVID-19 alert level April 8 from yellow, which means there is low to moderate risk of transmission, to green, which means cases are rare and transmission is controlled.
The university raised its alert level to yellow March 19 after a rise in cases attributed to students disregarding public health guidelines. The cases were linked to Cornell freshmen, Greek life organizations, athletic teams, travel outside of Tompkins County, and parties on and off campus. Cornell had three new cases April 6, and from March 31 to April 6, there were less than five new cases per day. The university also saw quarantine spaces get close to full between March 19 and March 24. Cornell’s Johnson College of Business MBA Program had to move online March 26 due to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Ithaca College’s COVID-19 alert level is currently green and has not moved all semester. There are currently six active cases — four residential students, one off-campus student and one staff member. During the week of March 14–20, the college only saw one new positive case. However, it saw six during the following week.
Tompkins County active cases have fallen below 100 again for the first time since March 10. Previously, the county had fewer than 100 cases from Feb. 28 to March 10.
Testing at Ithaca College is done through a saliva self-collection process. Samples can be dropped off by 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday at the Athletics and Events Center, the Campus Center and Terrace 13. Symptomatic members of the campus community cannot access campus and should seek testing at The Shops at Ithaca Mall sampling site, the downtown sampling site or the Cayuga Medical Center testing site.