As numbers improve, everyone is reminded to continue with all safety measures — including avoiding any in-person Super Bowl or basketball watch parties. Other updates from Sarah Van Orman of USC Student Health:
LATEST NUMBERS: The availability of ICU beds has increased to 13% capacity. The number of positive cases among students and employees also is decreasing, after peaking during the week of Jan. 17-23.
POP TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING: More than 36,000 tests were performed during January, identifying several positive cases of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals and allowing close contacts to be quickly isolated.
VACCINATIONS: More than 18,000 vaccines were administered through Keck Medicine of USC to health care workers and people over age 65. When the current vaccine shortage is resolved and more supply is made available, updated information will be provided to the next groups in phases 1B, 1C and 2 .
YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- People who have recovered from COVID-19 may experience re-infection, as the length of immunity is uncertain.
- People who have received the vaccine may still be able to transmit the illness to others who are not yet vaccinated — even without experiencing any illness themselves.
- Vaccinated individuals should continue with strong precautions even after completing vaccination.
- Asymptomatic spread is possible and not uncommon. People can have no symptoms, have an active infectious illness, and transmit the illness to others.
Read the full update.