Dear Faculty and Staff Members,
I hope you are enjoying summer thus far. We on the COVID-19 Management Group are making plans for fall and anticipate a successful semester. This is in no small part due to your continued efforts to keep our community safe and moving forward. Thank you.
As we finalize our preparations, there is important health guidance for all Loggers to keep in mind. Below are notes on some of what you can expect for the fall semester. Naturally, we will continue to monitor public health conditions and will notify you of any changes to fall plans or campus health and safety measures:
- In-person learning continues: Courses will continue to be offered in person for fall 2022.
- We continue to be a fully vaccinated campus: Faculty, staff, and students are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (i.e., to have completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccine and received a booster if eligible), with limited exceptions granted for medical or religious reasons. Newly hired faculty and staff members must submit proof of vaccination or receive an approved exemption when hired. Staying up to date on vaccinations offers the best individual and community protection against the evolving COVID-19 virus.
- Masks: Currently, masking during indoor, group activities is not required, but is strongly recommended. Our COVID-19 Dashboard and COVID-19 Mitigation Action Plan will help us determine if/when masks become required throughout the fall.
- Managing symptoms: Regardless of your vaccination status, please stay home if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or a positive test result. Report positive test results to contacttracing@pugetsound.edu.
- Cleaning protocol: Cleaning protocols and practices will be guided by recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Isolation housing: We will continue to use Regester Hall as our isolation building through the fall semester.
- Updated policies: Additional information on travel, visitors, and events guidance, as well as an archive of campus-wide messages, is available online at pugetsound.edu/coronavirus.
Campus Arrival Procedures
- If you left campus for the summer, before you come back, please take a COVID-19 test one to two days prior to returning to campus. You do not need to provide proof of test results. At-home test kits or lab-based tests both fulfill this requirement.
- If you test positive prior to returning to campus, please stay home and complete your isolation period. Reach out to contacttracing@pugetsound.edu for more specific guidance.
- If you remained on campus for the summer, please begin pooled saliva testing the week of August 22nd and continue testing once weekly for the first two weeks of classes. Pooled saliva testing resumes August 1st if you would like to begin testing earlier than August 22nd.
- All campus members should take a pooled saliva test once a week for the first two weeks of classes. You should NOT test if you have had confirmed or suspected COVID-19 within the last 90 days.
- Please pick up saliva test kits from the table outside of Room 208 in Wheelock Student Center. You may take more than one kit at a time. If you need a large amount of test kits, please email contacttracing@pugetsound.edu. Please complete your test, and then drop it off at the drop box located outside of Wheelock 208.
Again, thank you for all you have done to make the campus successful and taking these necessary steps to protect yourself and keep our community safe. Let us continue to approach this with compassion and grace.
Bob Kief and the COVID-19 Management Group