The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will report positive COVID-19 cases via a public dashboard that launched Wednesday.
The dashboard can be accessed here. It will be updated by 5 p.m. daily to reflect positive, documented cases confirmed the previous day. Cases reported between Friday and Sunday will be posted on the following Monday.
UL Lafayette created the dashboard “in the interest of transparency and accuracy,” said Dr. Jaimie Hebert, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
Hebert co-chaired the Ragin’ Cajun Resiliency Plan Task Force. The panel of administrators, students, faculty and staff members worked throughout the summer to establish guidelines for the safe resumption of on-campus courses, residential life and activities this fall.
“The task force’s work was driven by one priority: the wellbeing of every member of the University family,” Hebert said. “The creation of the COVID-19 dashboard reflects that same priority.
“Collecting this data – and releasing it daily in an accurate and transparent way – is another step we’re taking to keep our community informed and safe.”
The dashboard displays a weekly case number as well as a running total that reflects cases reported since March 16. It also enables users to scan weekly totals starting in mid-March.
Both student and employee positive cases are included. Student totals come from tests performed by UL Lafayette’s Student Health Services; those performed in the Department of Athletics; and from student workers who provide documentation of their illnesses to the Office of Human Resources.
Employee numbers are derived from documentation received by Human Resources.
All numbers reflect when a case was reported, not necessarily when a student or employee contracted the virus. In addition, the total number of positive cases does not mean that’s how many cases may be on campus at any particular time, Hebert said.
“Teleworking and continued remote learning this fall semester have reduced the number of employees and students on campus, so the number of positive, confirmed cases shown on the dashboard could include students and staff members who are working and learning from home.”