BOURBONNAIS – Olivet Nazarene University announced it would begin the NAIA Basketball season on October 27th against Indiana Wesleyan University in Bourbonnais. Olivet lost that home opener 117-82 at McHie Arena. Since then, Indiana Wesleyan University has reported as of Nov. 12th 77 active cases, with 123 students in isolation and 336 students currently in quarantine.
The news came early Thursday morning.
Olivet Nazarene itself has seen active cases setting new records, reporting 70 students as active positives on the Bourbonnais campus Thursday. Olivet does not currently report students in isolation or quarantine.
Among the 70 students now infected on the Olivet campus, 40 students are isolating on campus while 30 students are isolating off-campus. It’s an increase of 19 new cases among students at the University since Nov. 7th. Case counts in Bourbonnais had fallen to as low as 14 on October 26th, one day before the NAIA season tipped off in Bourbonnais.
Since the October 27th game, at least eight Olivet basketball games have now been label COVID NO CONTEST with the next regular-season game scheduled for Nov. 30th against Taylor University. Three of those games had been scheduled to take place on the Bourbonnais campus.
New mitigation efforts had been put into effect on campus limiting student movements last week after the University warned students of ‘another major spike’ developing. Mitigation efforts included any events over 25 people of been postponed or been moved to a virtual experience. No guests or visitors are permitted at any time in dorms or apartments assigned to people with housing contracts.
No update was given from the Kankakee County Health Department on Wednesday due to the holiday. Cases in Kankakee County have risen by 600% since November 1st.
New numbers are expected to be released locally later this afternoon. Wednesday, Kankakee County tested at a 17.7% weekly positivity rate, the single largest report for the County in the pandemic.
