By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois Wesleyan University is testing all students for COVID-19 once they arrive to campus and in the first phase of testing four students have received a positive result.

In an email to the IWU community Thursday afternoon, the university said the four positive cases were not connected. Three of the students were on-campus residents and one was an off-campus student. All four students have been notified and are returning home to continue isolating, according to the school.

The McLean County Health Department has also been notified and is working in conjunction with Arnold Health Service to identify any close contacts of the individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the release. IWU workers are following enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols and will conduct additional deep cleaning and disinfecting of on-campus spaces occupied by students who received positive test results.

IWU said 709 tests have been administered for a positivity rate of less than 1% (0.56% percent). The university said it expects to test approximately 750 more students in the coming days. Reditus Laboratories has been providing the university with test results within 24-48 hours.

Once students are tested, they are required to isolate until they receive a negative test result. Students who test positive will be asked to leave campus and return home to isolate. If returning home isn’t possible, a quarantine space and appropriate support will be provided to students living in university-provided housing.

Additionally, ongoing surveillance testing will be conducted throughout the semester. Each week, 5-10% of the entire student body will be retested to monitor the potential emergence of positive COVID-19 cases on campus.

IWU’s fall semester begins this Monday with a mix of in-person, online and hybrid courses.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]