More than 100 new coronavirus cases were identified on Duke University's campus in the past week.
The majority of people who tested positive were vaccinated, university officials said. Statewide, less than 3% of all COVID-19 cases reported so far this year are among the vaccinated.
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Only 1% of the nearly 10,000 tests administered on campus last week came back positive, the university's dashboard shows. Ninety-seven of the cases were reported among students and 14 were among staff, bringing the total to 111.
Duke requires students and visitors to get vaccinated and wear face masks indoors. The Chronicle of Higher Education lists 739 campuses that are requiring COVID-19 vaccinations across the country.
Duke Vice President for Public Affairs Michael Schoenfeld says the cases were traced back to various indoor events in Durham. At least one was at a bar or restaurant, and others were in private homes.
Experts are concerned that the Delta variant of COVID-19 could drive up cases despite universities' best efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. Vaccinations alone may not prevent colleges from having widespread COVID-19 outbreaks, some data suggests.
Nearly 15,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in North Carolina since Friday. In the past three days, North Carolina added 14% more COVID-19 cases than it did over the same period last week.
Hospitalizations are the highest they've been since Feb. 3, and the number of new COVID-19 cases the state has added in August is roughly the same as case numbers in February.
18 people are dying on average each day in North Carolina from the virus. The majority of virus deaths are among those who are unvaccinated. 92 people who were already vaccinated have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of this year, state officials say, which is a little more than 1% of all reported coronavirus deaths.