346 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed on the El Camino College campus, bringing the total number of cases to 433.

Information regarding all of the cases comes from four different emails from El Camino College’s (ECC) Marketing and Communications. Some of the cases in the first email will not be mentioned, as they have been covered before in a previous article by The Union.

36 COVID-19 cases were part of a Winter Holiday case email update from Friday, Jan. 7 at 11:36 a.m. The cases are as follows:

• Five individuals tested positive and were last on campus Dec. 23, 2021, but had no close contacts. All individuals tested at Manhattan Beach Boulevard Module (MBBM) 136 to test. One individual visited their office in the first floor Student Services building at the base of the stairs near Admissions and Records.
• Four individuals tested positive Dec. 23 and Dec. 27, 2021. They were last on campus Dec. 2, 23 and 27, 2021. All cases except the individual last visiting Dec. 2 tested at MBBM 136 and left campus soon after testing. The Dec. 2 individual tested externally. No individuals had close contacts or visited any buildings.
• 10 individuals tested positive and were last on campus Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, 2021. All individuals had no close contacts and didn’t visit any buildings. They tested at MBBM 136 and left campus afterward.
• Seven individuals tested positive and were last on campus Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, 2021. All individuals had no close contacts, didn’t visit any buildings, tested at MBBM 136 and left campus afterward.
• The results of the Jan. 2 and 3 COVID-19 mandatory testing for students and faculty who wanted to go onto campus for the Winter 2022 session resulted in 10 individuals testing positive. All individuals had no close contacts, didn’t visit any buildings and left campus after testing.

Seven additional COVID-19 cases were revealed in an email on Jan. 7 at 4:52 p.m.

These cases were confirmed on Jan. 3, with the individuals testing positive Dec. 27, 2021, Jan. 2 and 3. The individuals last visited campus Dec. 13, 20 and 21, 2021, as well as Jan. 2. The Dec. 27 positive testing and Dec. 13 campus visits were reported from external results.

These individuals checked into MBBM 136 and the South Gym for testing and left campus immediately afterward, having no close contacts or facilities visited.

64 more cases of COVID-19 were revealed in an email on Jan. 21. The cases were confirmed on Jan. 19, with the individuals testing positive and last on campus Jan. 17, 18 and 19.

All 64 individuals visited the South Gym for testing, however, none of them reported any close contacts with others while on campus. All but one case left campus after testing and this individual visited Natural Science Building room 105D.

In another email on Jan. 26, 29 cases were revealed. 15 of those cases were confirmed Jan. 21, with the individuals testing positive and last visiting campus Jan. 19, 20 and 21. These individuals entered the South Gym to test.

No close contacts were reported, but individuals visited multiple buildings, including the writing center in the Humanities Building, Chemistry Building room 167, the tool room, welding lab and men’s restrooms in the Centers for Applied Technology Building, the first-floor reception area, first and second-floor men’s restrooms and first-floor breakroom of the Administration Building and the Special Resource Center of the Student Services Building

The other 14 cases were confirmed Jan. 25, with the individuals testing positive and last visited campus Jan. 24 and 25. No close contacts were reported and the individuals went to the South Gym to test. Some individuals did visit The ECC Police Station, specifically offices as well as the kitchen and men’s restroom.

Marketing and Communication also revealed in the Jan. 26 email that from Jan. 10 to 18, out of the over 2,000 individuals being tested for COVID-19, 10% were found to be positive, which was 210 individuals. The email also said the ECC positivity percentage was lower than the County of Los Angeles’ positivity average of 17.3%.

During a phone call with ECC Director of Public Information and Government Relations Kerri Webb on Jan. 27, it was confirmed these 210 cases are different from the 64 cases revealed on Jan. 21 that had cases confirmed on Jan. 17, 18 and 19.

The 210 individuals had no close contacts and a majority of them went home immediately after testing. Two individuals did visit buildings on campus, which included the shop area of the Construction Technology Building and the second-floor office area of the El Camino Bookstore.

It is noted in the Jan. 26 email that when testing at ECC at this time, individuals are not allowed on campus or any buildings until they receive a negative test result and receive their wristband at a campus check-in kiosk.

All individuals that tested positive are required to observe the minimum 10-day at-home quarantine period. For cases where individuals visited other buildings, the Facilities Department were notified to disinfect and sanitize each area. Normal disinfection and sanitization were done at testing sites, according to the emails.

ECC students and employees are asked to continue following the directions given by public health and elected officials during the COVID-19 outbreak, including Health Officer Muntu Davis’ most recent orders from Los Angeles County and the State of California.