Today, the university announced that a faculty member in the Texas State University community tested positive for COVID-19. The faculty member became ill during spring break on March 17 while away from the San Marcos campus. Subsequently, the individual was seen by a primary care provider who later confirmed a positive COVID-19 test result. The faculty member, who lives in Austin, is recovering well and a full recovery is expected.

The faculty member was on campus on March 9 and 11 before the university’s spring break began. The faculty member was completely asymptomatic while on campus. After consulting with the local public health authority, it has been determined that the risk of transmission to others on March 9 and 11 was very low, the university said. Since the faculty member has not returned to campus since March 11, and it is past the 14-day incubation period, the public health authority is not recommending any specific measures be taken by the university at this time.

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that’s a close cousin to SARS and MERS viruses that have caused previous outbreaks. The disease is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. COVID-19 may take up to 2-14 days after exposure to appear. The disease can cause a wide range of respiratory illnesses, including fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019.

Tips to prevent the spread of COVID-19