Texas A&M is pleased to share that the Brazos County Health District (BCHD) announced today that negative test results were returned for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) for the Texas A&M student whose samples were sent to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) last week.
“We are very pleased with this news and grateful to those community caregivers involved for their expertise, proactive action and compassion demonstrated in treating our student,” said Dr. Martha Dannenbaum, director of A&M’s Student Health Services. “We wish to thank the Brazos County Health District, which offered guidance and transparency throughout this case.”
On Thursday, Jan. 23, the BCHD reported that the individual had met CDC criteria for further testing and evaluation after being treated at an area hospital. Texas A&M verified that the individual in question is a graduate student. The Health District held a news conference to provide assessment, including low risk to students and the community. Samples sent to the CDC in Atlanta for testing were returned with negative results on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Chris Meyer, associate vice president for Safety and Security for Texas A&M said the collaboration among local, state and national officials was “immensely helpful in fulfilling our mission of keeping the campus community safe.”
“We are grateful for training and expertise that contributed to handling this case,” he said.
Primary groups involved included the on-campus Texas A&M Emergency Response team and University Infectious Diseases Task Group; Brazos County Health District (BCHD); Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM); and Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
Due to HIPAA, FERPA and campus privacy policies, Texas A&M is unable to disclose additional information regarding this student such as residence location or class attendance. The university posted commonly asked questions on the Student Health Services website at https://shs.tamu.edu/ncov.
Dr. Dannenbaum and Mr. Meyer encourage the campus community to continue to be vigilant and sensible by taking basic hygiene precautions, including washing hands in soap and water; sneezing into an elbow; and covering a cough.
