The COVID-19 Dashboard for the U of A is now being updated on a weekly basis. After a brief spike early in the fall 2021 semester, active cases on campus dropped significantly and have remained relatively low for multiple reporting periods, allowing for an adjustment of the updating schedule from three times a week to once a week. 

The 14 active cases reported on Oct. 18 is the lowest number of active cases for the university since the week of Aug. 2, 2021. Current quaratine and isolation capacity is 97 percent. The U of A continues to support COVID-19 safety protocols, testing and vaccination, including a vaccination incentive effort for students. More than 17,000 students have signed up to participate. 

The university is updating the dashboard on a weekly basis — on Mondays — with all available data from the previous week (or as soon as all pending cases are resolved from the previous week). The weekly updating adjustment was approved by the Communicable Disease Outbreak Committee and the COVID-19 Response Leads Team. The frequency of updates can easily be adjusted again if needed due to any potential increases in the number of active cases on campus.

Information gathered for the dashboard report was previously updated three times a week (M-W-F) during the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters, as well as the beginning of the fall 2021 semester. Updates occurred once a month during the summer of 2021. 

The university's COVID-19 Response site continues to be updated during the pandemic with the latest news and information for the campus community. 

While state law prohibits requiring it, COVID-19 vaccination is strongly encouraged.