STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Dr. Deborah Birx, a Penn State graduate and the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House, spoke at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center on Wednesday. She is in State College to discuss with student leaders the importance of testing on college campuses.
"I'm very proactive about the importance of testing because of the level of silent spread in this age group, and the only way you're going to find the majority of cases is through testing," said Dr. Birx.
According to Penn State's COVID-19 dashboard, there have been over 3,000 confirmed cases at the university this semester.
Dr. Birx says there are several reasons why COVID-19 numbers at Penn State University are so high; however, she says that in-classroom gatherings are not one of those reasons.
"We're seeing a rate between 10 to 15 percent of the university student population becoming infected. What we haven't seen in our travels with 30 universities is we haven't seen in-classroom transmission," said Dr. Birx.
One student Newswatch 16 spoke to says she is concerned with the current number of cases on campus.
"I've seen a few of my friends get COVID, and it makes me more nervous and more cautious about what I'm doing day to day," said junior Lexy Leidlein.
Birx also addressed the uptick in cases across the commonwealth. She says small indoor gatherings are one of the reasons why positive cases are on the rise.
"People went indoors and are congregating indoors and having small parties and small get-togethers indoors, and people are very careful in public spaces but not always the same level on intensive in private spaces," said Dr. Birx.
Dr. Birx says she will continue to travel to schools across the country to talk with administrators and students about the ongoing pandemic.