 This program is brought to you by Cable Franchise Vs and generous donations from viewers like you. Hello and welcome to the Amherst Weekly Report of February 12, 2021 from Amherst Media. I'm Faith Gregory, filling in for Claire Healy. I'm the director of programming here at Amherst Media as well as the news director for the Amherst Weekly Report. Due to UMass Amherst's recent upgrade to high-risk designation, our wonderful team of interns and work-study students are self-sequestering for their safety. This could last for two weeks or longer. In place of an ordinary episode of the Weekly Report, we will be briefing you our much-appreciated viewership on the situation at UMass Amherst. At the Amherst Town Council meeting on February 8, UMass Amherst John Kennedy, vice chancellor for university relations, began a presentation on numbers relevant to the current high-risk situation at the university. Measures implemented due to the high-risk situation at UMass include transitioning all classes to a remote format, self-sequestering, which means students are allowed out twice weekly for COVID testing, for food or for medical reasons, and all campus athletics are canceled. Failure to comply can lead to disciplinary actions for students. Kennedy reports that this will be in effect until February 21 at the earliest or until the public health situation improves significantly. Here's the breakdown of the numbers. 5,350 students are living on campus including RAs, 3,100 of those students on campus are first-year students, and 6,000 students are enrolled in face-to-face classes. These numbers are approximate. 7,137 UMass students are living in Amherst and Pelham, mostly undergrad, with about 1,600 graduate students. Jeffrey Hascock, executive director of environmental health and safety and emergency management at UMass Amherst, reports that between February 1 and February 7, 16,923 tests were conducted, and the campus had around a 2.46 percent campus positivity rate. There were 406 positive cases at that time, breaking down to 399 students and seven faculty and staff members. 208 of those positive cases were on-campus students, and 191 were off-campus. As of February 8, 2021, there were 125 new positive cases at UMass Amherst, bringing the total of active cases to 541. The seven-day cumulative positivity rate was 2.59 percent. This comes from the UMass Amherst COVID-19 dashboard, which can be found at umass.edu forward slash coronavirus forward slash dashboard. To watch Monday, February 8, Town Council meeting and UMass Amherst presentation, you can visit Amherst Media's YouTube page. Thank you for watching the Amherst Weekly Report from Amherst Media. I'm Faith Gregory, filling in for Claire Healy. Remember, wear your mask and social distance to stay healthy and safe.