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ASU COVID-19 cases drop below 50 as mask mandates lift in Tempe

The University's Sun Devil Fitness Complex COVID-19 vaccination site stopped distributing vaccines and closed on May 7

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Students walk towards the entrance of the Sun Devil Fitness Center on the ASU Tempe campus on Friday, Sept. 4, 2020.


ASU reported 47 active COVID-19 cases Monday, a decrease of 14 from last week's 61 active cases. 

Students make up 40 of the cases, and seven of the cases are faculty and staff, according to a University update.

All 40 of the active student cases are off-campus. There are no active cases on the Tempe, Downtown Phoenix, West or Polytechnic campuses. 

The University has reported 2,261 positive cases since Jan. 1 out of the 93,023 total tests administered. ASU’s total positivity rate is roughly 2.4%. 

ASU's Sun Devil Fitness Complex COVID-19 vaccination site has not been operational since May 7, its last day of vaccine distribution, according to a University spokesperson. 

The SDFC "was simply used as a staging place for us to be able to deliver a large amount of vaccine in a short period of time," said Nichol Luoma, vice president of University Business Services. 

Now that COVID-19 vaccines are more widely available in places like doctor's offices and pharmacies, the need for mass vaccination sites is in decline, the University spokesperson said in an email.

On Monday, the city of Tempe issued a proclamation rescinding the city's mask mandate, effective Friday. Tempe still requires all people to continue to wear masks on public transportation and urges unvaccinated individuals to continue wearing masks. The proclamation also allows other businesses and establishments to enforce stricter mask requirements.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines last week to recommend fully vaccinated individuals resume pre-pandemic activities without masks or social distancing unless otherwise required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial law and business and workplace guidance. 

ASU’s guidelines, issued on May 7 before the CDC’s new recommendations were released, no longer require fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks outdoors; however, all students must continue to wear masks inside ASU buildings.

The University has not yet changed its policy to reflect the CDC’s most recent recommendations. 

READ MORE: Face covers no longer required outdoors on campus for vaccinated people

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported a total of 468 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths in the state Monday. Over 3.1 million Arizonans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the report. 

ASU students, faculty and staff can sign up to make a vaccine appointment through the ASU Health Portal. Students can walk into ASU Health Services to receive a vaccine as well.

All state-run vaccination sites, including the site at Desert Financial Arena, are currently offering the Pfizer vaccine, which was authorized for emergency usage in adolescents by the Food and Drug Administration on May 10 and recommended for children aged 12 to 15 by the CDC on May 12. 

The state-run vaccination sites administered over 6,000 vaccines to children aged 12 to 15 on Thursday alone, according to a statement from AZDHS. 

“This is great news for families across Arizona,” said ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ in a statement. “In addition to encouraging parents and guardians to protect those ages 12 to 15 from COVID-19, we hope adults in the family will roll up their sleeves as well if they haven’t already done so.”

Appointment availability and COVID-19 vaccination points across the state can be found on the ADHS vaccine patient portal


Reach the reporter at alcamp12@asu.edu and follow @Anna_Lee_Camp on Twitter.

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