Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
The College’s Incident Action Group is meeting regularly to discuss the COVID-19 virus and will continue to develop policies related to travel and work that are designed to support the safety and well-being of students, faculty and staff. Additional information on these planning efforts will be shared in the coming days.
Spring Break Travel
Recognizing that many members of the community will be traveling over spring break, and that the list of areas impacted by COVID-19 is changing rapidly, we are requiring that anyone traveling during spring break report their travel plans using the following link:
This will allow us to communicate proactively with members of the community as needed. The College strongly advises against personal travel to any areas designated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as high impact zones for COVID-19, which can change daily. If you are traveling to a country or domestic region that is currently or becomes a Level 3 area designated by the CDC, the College will require completion of a 14-day self-isolation period before being cleared for return to campus. If you have questions about where the virus is active you can find additional information on the CDC website or contact Dr. Jeff Goldstein at (610) 330-5001 or goldstej@lafayette.edu. Additionally, United States citizens traveling internationally should register with the STEP program through the Department of State.
Study Abroad Update
As you may know, the Temple University Rome campus closed over the weekend, joining the other two universities with which Lafayette has study abroad affiliate programs in Italy (Gonzaga and Syracuse). The College has been in contact (email and phone) with impacted Lafayette students and their parents and instructed students to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return. Plans are coming together for students to complete their coursework via distance learning through their affiliated institutions. We continue to advise all of our students studying abroad to monitor notices from the U.S. government, local officials, their program leadership and our study abroad office with respect to health alerts and any potential program cancellation.
As explained in prior coronavirus communications and posted on the COVID-19 information webpage, the best defense against viruses is to remain vigilant and take precautions to minimize the risk of all contagious infectious diseases.
Your participation in completing the Spring Break Travel Survey is important to the health and safety of our community. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
John Meier
Provost
Annette Diorio
Vice President for Campus Life