COVID-19 cases are on the rise at Slippery Rock University, but President William Behre trusts his students will make the right choices.

“A subset of our students have made decisions I wish they wouldn't have made,” Behre said. “I encourage our students be sensible about this.”

SRU has a cumulative case total of 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Aug. 20, with 21 of those cases being confirmed between Aug. 27 and Wednesday.

Behre said he has often heard the argument that because the death rate is low in young people, there is no reason to fear COVID-19.

“Why take that risk at this point?” Behre said. “Young people can suffer damages from this disease, short of death. There's a lot of bad things that can occur before death, and permanent problems that can occur.”

Cases system wide

SRU is one of five universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to reach double digits in confirmed cases.

Bloomsburg, which has 216 cases, and Lock Haven, with 45 cases, have both in recent weeks switched to remote learning.

“The lessons we learned from the spring are being applied now,” said Dave Pidgeon, a PASSHE spokesman.

Kutztown, with 27 cases, and West Chester, with 16 cases, also join SRU in the top five, although those two schools and Lock Haven started one week later than Bloomsburg and SRU.

“Our leadership is certainly in consultation with the leadership of all the universities,” Pidgeon said. “The ultimate decision lies within the university leadership. That's the framework we set up.”

In the same way PASSHE has been keeping tabs on its schools, Behre said SRU officials have remained in weekly communication with Allegheny Health Network.

“I have a feeling that if we ever make the decision to go fully remote, it's going to be because we realize the caseload is getting too much for our capabilities,” Behre said. “So far, our resources are adequate, and they're up to the task.”

While SRU has isolation procedures in place for students who test positive, the spread of the virus on campus could affect Butler County's data as well, according to Maggi Mumma, deputy press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

“The case will count where they spend the most time, and since they would be on campus more of the year than at home, that would be on campus,” Mumma said.

Any student physically attending classes, even out-of-state or international students, would factor into the data of the county in which the campus is located. However, the state also takes remote learning into consideration; and if a student is learning remotely, their case is attributed to their permanent residence.

“These details would be determined through the case investigation process,” Mumma said.

County numbers

After seeing slight decreases for two weeks, Butler County had an uptick this week in new confirmed cases.

According to Friday's report by the Department of Health, Butler County added five new confirmed cases of COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 759 county residents have tested positive and 19 people have died.

Butler County added a combined total of 46 new confirmed cases spanning from Aug. 29 to Friday's update. From Aug. 22 to Aug. 28, the county saw only 21 new confirmed cases.

While the number of cases has risen, the number of patients hospitalized at Butler Memorial remained in single digits all week.

Butler Health System reported treating four patients at the Butler hospital with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, three of whom had confirmed cases of the virus and one of whom was being treated in the intensive care unit.

Butler VA

Butler VA Healthcare also has three active cases of COVID-19, according to tracking data listed on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' website.

The data also showed the VA has 40 cases considered convalescent, which means the person has recovered. The convalescent cases include 34 veterans and six employees who were infected. Among the Butler VA cases, four people have died due to the virus.

“Per (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance and VA protocols, employees and patients exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms are immediately isolated to prevent potential spread to others,” said Butler VA spokeswoman Paula McCarl.

“The Butler VA Health Care System and its community living center continue to use personal protective equipment in accordance with CDC guidelines.”