University of Tennessee releases COVID-19 data from first day of classes

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The University of Tennessee-Knoxville has released new coronavirus data from the first day of classes.

Of the 105 active cases reported by the university on Wednesday, 97 are students and the remaining eight cases are employees. Last week, the university reported 28 positive cases on campus.

University of Tennessee fall semester classes began Wednesday, Aug. 19.

There are now 377 people in self-isolation, an increase of 22 from Tuesday. The school reported 301 of the 377 isolations are students, with 221 living off-campus and 80 on-campus residents. There are now 76 university employees in self-isolation, down from 94.

During an update Tuesday, Chancellor Donde Plowman said the university traced a cluster of active cases to an off-campus party on Laurel Avenue that took place a week ago. The university defines a cluster as at least five connected cases or 20 people in self-isolation from one event.

Plowman warned that students that do not comply with university COVID-19 guidelines could face expulsion.

On-campus coronavirus data is released daily on utk.edu/coronavirus, click ‘review the latest campus COVID-19 data report,’ to view the latest raw data and visualizations.