The University of Vermont has detected the B.1.1.7 variant of Covid-19 on its campus, university officials said Monday.
The more contagious mutation of the virus originated in the United Kingdom and has since been detected across the U.S.
In an email to students Monday afternoon, UVM vice president Gary Derr announced that the Vermont Department of Health had recently confirmed that four out of five random positive test samples from the campus showed the presence of the variant. He urged students to take precautions.
“This is important information, as the variant spreads more readily and symptoms appear sooner and can be more severe,” Derr wrote.
The UK variant was detected in Burlington’s wastewater in February, and its presence was confirmed in Chittenden County a month later, on March 8.
The latest results came alongside a sharp rise in student cases at the university, after several weeks of stable case numbers.
On Monday, UVM reported 83 student cases, as well as two staff cases, over the prior seven days — its highest weekly total since the semester began.
“The results from last week are not encouraging,” Derr wrote.
Since spring classes began Feb. 1, UVM has reported 333 student cases of the coronavirus, as well as seven staff cases. No faculty members have contracted the virus this semester, according to the university.
On Feb. 25, the university mandated twice-weekly testing for students after Covid cases spiked in the first weeks of the semester. When cases stabilized, officials said they were hoping to return to once-weekly testing on March 22.
Now, however, twice-weekly testing will continue until at least April 3, according to the university’s updated Covid-19 resource page.
Clarification: This story has been updated to more precisely describe the nature of the positive UVM test samples that indicated the presence of the UK variant.
