Emerson reported two new positive COVID-19 test results Tuesday out of 606 tests administered on Oct. 9, leaving the college’s cumulative positive tests since Aug. 6 at 21. Emerson’s cumulative testing total sits at 25,996.

The new data was reported at 9:20 am.

Massachusetts reported 632 new positive cases Tuesday evening, down from 765 new cases on Monday. The number of deaths fell slightly from 13 to 12. Cases continue to rise in the state following a brief fall last week. 

The college did not update the dashboard yesterday due to Indigenous People’s Day. 

In a statement, Assistant Vice President for Campus Life Erik Muurisepp told The Beacon that the dashboard will be updated automatically beginning Tuesday. The decision comes after an investigation by Beacon reporters found 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.