Duke University Avoids COVID-19 Clusters

Duke University students have been back on campus for about a month and have not reported a single cluster of coronavirus cases, thanks in part to a rigorous testing system. WRAL's Sarah Krueger reports.

(WRAL/NBC News)  — Duke University students have been back on campus for about a month and have not reported a single cluster of coronavirus cases.

The situation at Duke has been vastly different than at other schools around the country.

Part of the reason is testing, including how often it happens and who gets it.

Every day, students are required to submit any symptoms in an app.

In addition to testing anyone with symptoms, Duke is focused on testing those with no signs of the virus.

“The more we can do to catch that and to catch that early, the safer the rest of the population will be,” says Duke Chief Communications Officer Mike Schoenfeld.

Schoenfeld says the asymptomatic testing is not random.

Duke experts in math, biology and epidemiology select students for testing based on a number of factors like where they live, and work.

All the tests are run in a Duke lab.

Read more here.