Emerson reports no new positives, Massachusetts cases top 1,200

Emersons+testing+site+is+located+at+a+Tufts+Medical+Center+facility+on+the+corner+of+Harrison+Ave.+and+Kneeland+St.

Diti Kohli

Emerson’s testing site is located at a Tufts Medical Center facility on the corner of Harrison Ave. and Kneeland St.

By Charlie McKenna

Emerson reported no new positive COVID-19 test results Monday out of 598 new tests administered on Oct. 23, leaving the college’s cumulative positive tests since Aug. 6 at 26. Emerson’s cumulative testing total sits at 32,755.

The new data was reported at 12:13 pm. 

Massachusetts reported 1,216 new coronavirus cases Monday. The total was up from 1,087 new cases reported Sunday. The number of deaths rose from eight to 17. New infections continue to rise in the state—cases numbers have now broken 1,000 three days in a row, a mark last hit in mid-May.

The college shifted from a manual data reporting process to an automatic one on Oct. 13. The decision came after an investigation by Beacon reporters revealed a string of inaccuracies in the data reported by the college. 

Emerson’s dashboard is updated daily Monday through Friday. When it was first launched in August, the college opted for weekly updates before eventually shifting to twice weekly and then daily updates. Tabs for hospitalizations and the number of “invalid” results received by community members have been removed from the dashboard since testing began in August. Invalid results are typically a result of user error and require re-testing. 

Administrators have said the decision to remove hospitalizations was an effort to increase transparency as the college said it could not accurately track the metric. Invalid results were deemed “not valuable” data by Muurisepp, who serves as the college’s “COVID lead”. 

The dashboard is not updated on weekends because Emerson’s testing site at Tufts Medical Center is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, administrators have said.