COVID-19 update

Dear students,

This week has marked a bit of a setback in terms of some behaviors. I understand your frustration that the actions of some can impact the experience of all students. As mentioned in my message yesterday, we will continue to investigate any reports of significant breaches of COVID-19 regulations and will process both individuals and groups through our conduct system. Additionally, we have restricted activities for several groups. Since the start of the semester, we have reassigned more than 20 students to remote learning status as a result of violating COVID-19 guidelines and will continue to investigate and adjudicate behaviors that place others at risk. 

We have learned a great deal in our first few weeks together on College Hill and have incorporated those lessons into our revised operational levels.

• Forty-two new student positives and zero new employee cases were found in testing over the past seven days for a positivity rate of 1.8% for students and 0.0% for faculty and staff. As always, additional details can be found on the COVID-19 dashboard.
• We added an operational level 0, which while aspirational, does recognize that we can, together, reach a place with even more flexibility and freedom than initially contemplated. We have provided a more robust explanation of the various factors that could lead to a change in operational levels plus aligned and clarified the ranges for COVID-19 test positivity levels that would most closely align with each level.
• We made clear that even in more restrictive levels, College programming and in-person activity can still be provided. For students following the rules, we know the thought of losing opportunities creates anxiety, so we wanted to make clear that we can continue to provide supervised programming, even in the event that we need to be more restrictive.
• The weather is getting warmer, and spring is almost here. This is the perfect time to think about all the ways you can enjoy the outdoors, including cheering on the Leopards at athletics events, which will allow limited spectators beginning March 13. Be on the lookout for communication about your opportunity to attend a game!
• The COVID-19 dashboard is updated every weekday but remember, the number of new daily cases is not the sole indication of risk to the community. Our ability to test, trace, and isolate/quarantine students quickly and comprehensively plus your commitment to following the guidance on mask-wearing, physical distancing, and keeping your unique social contacts small is also key.

If you have questions, please contact me.

Annette Diorio
Vice President for Campus Life