Active COVID-19 cases have fallen below 100 in Tompkins County for the first time in months.
As of March 3, there were 81 active cases, with 12 new cases reported the same day. Active cases have been under 100 for the last four days. The last time there were fewer than 100 active cases in the county was Nov. 11, with 73 cases.
There have been a total of 3,452 cases in the county since March 14, 2020. There are three hospitalizations and 27 reported deaths due to COVID-19, as of March 3. Tompkins County is also seeing more people get vaccinated. As of March 3, 10,829 people have received their first dose and 7,116 have received their second dose of the vaccine.
The average number of daily positive cases has also decreased throughout February. The average for February was 16.3 cases per day while the average for January was 31.2. Since Feb. 10, Tompkins County has reported no new COVID-19 deaths.
Ithaca College has also seen a low number of cases since students moved back, despite delays in testing and COVID-19 guideline violations. During the week of Feb. 21–27, there were five cases at the college. In the previous week, there were two cases. As of March 2, there are six active cases: two residential students, two off-campus students, one faculty member and one staff member. Due to the low number of cases, the college announced Feb. 17 that it would be relaxing some restrictions related to COVID-19 starting March 1.
Cornell University has had a decrease in cases after a cluster was identified Feb. 5. There were four new positives March 2. New cases per day at Cornell have been in the single digits since Feb. 11 and between Feb. 23 and March 1, there were 20 positive cases.
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.
