New COVID case on McMaster campus was a staff member

McMaster is reporting a new case of COVID-19 on campus.

In an update posted on its website Thursday, McMaster University said a staff member who was last on campus on Monday, Jan. 4 in Chester New Hall has tested positive for COVID.

All affected areas have been thoroughly cleaned." Contact tracing is being conducted by public health.

This is the 19th COVID case on McMaster's campus since the pandemic began. Most recently, the university reported Monday it had three new cases on campus.

The university has never had an outbreak. Outbreaks are typically declared when there is evidence of transmission in one setting.

As for how McMaster handles possible cases of COVID, it says that when anyone notifies the university they were recently on campus and are now awaiting the results of a COVID test, the university cleans all areas the person visited in the 72-hour period prior to the university being notified. If a test comes back negative, additional cleaning may occur.

When McMaster reports someone with COVID was on campus, they may only have been on campus for a few minutes," the university says.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com