Results of three UCLA students tested for COVID-19 come back negative

Three UCLA students in self-isolation for the new coronavirus have tested negative for the disease, UCLA officials said Friday night.

As of Friday morning, three students were being tested by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Chancellor Gene Block said in a 1 a.m. email to students. All of the students tested negative, Block said in a new statement Friday evening.

UCLA has increased its precautions against the disease since the outbreak began, including hand sanitizer stations, electronic sprayers in highly used areas and additional facility cleanings, Block wrote.

However, UCLA does not intend to change how it conducts classes at the moment, Block said in the statement. UCLA administrators are looking to provide options for remote test-taking and stream more lectures because of the disease.

As of Friday night, 13 people in Los Angeles County have tested positive for COVID-19.

California declared a state of emergency over COVID-19 on March 4, the same day the state announced its first death related to the disease.

COVID-19 worldwide has a fatality rate of around 3.4%, according to the World Health Organization. U.S. health officials told Congress on Thursday that they expect the COVID-19 fatality rate in the United States to be somewhere between .1% and 1%, according to the Washington Post.

USC announced that it will conduct classes online for three days next week in order to test its capacity to move online for a longer period in the case of the disease interfering with classes, according to a statement released Friday.

UCLA is hosting a series of information sessions on how to prepare against the disease. The first session will take place Monday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Students experiencing flu-like symptoms can call the Ashe Center Infection Control Line at 310-206-6217.