Autumn leaves are beginning to fall on campus and the chilly weather has descended on Ashland Universities’ campus. As we head into flu season it’s important to obtain your health to not only prevent the common cold but also take the precautions to avoid COVID-19.

According to Ashland Universities COVID-19 Dashboard, this week on AU’s campus there have been seven new COVID-19 positive cases. Six students are in active isolation on campus and 40 remain isolated off-campus.

27 students are in quarantine but only one of those students is on campus. These students are put into quarantine due to coming into contact with others who have tested positive for COVID-19. On a brighter note, there have been 46 total recovered positive cases on AU’s campus to date.

Some of Ashland Universities’ athletic programs, including volleyball and football, have had missing players due to contact tracing in classrooms.

“We’ve lost a couple of guys to the COVID protocol. A couple guys we were really counting on” said head football coach, Lee Owens, in his press conference on Tuesday. “It’s thinned us out a bit. I mean, I think we had 14 guys out on COVID protocol last week.”

The university is now tracking students missing from mandatory testing and is giving out conduct violations to those who do not attend. The first violation will be a written warning, the second will be a 100 dollar fine, and the third will include a 150 dollar fine and disciplinary probation.

Students who are in mandated isolation or quarantine, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days, can provide proof of vaccination, are in season and participating in mandated weekly testing in athletics, or in the College Credit Plus program are exempt from mandatory testing.

For more information on COVID-19 updates here at AU, go to www.ashland.edu/covid-19/fall-2021-updates.