Campus Case Update
We continue to identify new cases on campus. As of today we have 15 active COVID cases and a total of 46 students in quarantine or isolation (Q/I) either on-campus or at their homes off-campus. While these numbers appear relatively flat compared to what was shared last Friday, remember that we are also actively transitioning students out of Q/I according to CDC and State guidance. We have 12 new positive cases this week. See full testing results below.
Restricted Community Contact in Effect
The number of positive cases we are encountering is concerning, but currently manageable. In order to continue on-campus, in-person learning, we as a community need to work hard to help prevent cases from growing and reaching our physical and staffing capacity limits. As announced in the Campus COVID Update yesterday, we have entered a heightened restrictions stage – Restricted Community Contact (RCI). All employees and students need to observe the following requirements to help stop campus transmission:
RESTRICTED BEHAVIOR |
PERMITTED ACTIVITY |
Indoor eating should be restricted to personal residence space.
(Only roommates or apartmentmates may dining together without social distancing in personal residences)
All campus meals are To-Go only.
(Eating is not permitted in any of the share lounge and dining areas on campus)
Personal living space visitation temporarily suspended.
(Student should not visit the private rooms of other students including rooms on the same floor or in the sam building)
Limit unneccesary travel or errands.
(Student should limit their off-campus travel to work and essential errands)
Face covering are required everywhere on campus.
(Students may only remove their face covering when in their room alone or with their roommates with the door closed. Employees may only remove their face coverings while only in their offices with the door closed.)
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Outdoor eating is permitted with enhanced social distancing.
(Community members must allow for 12 feet of distance between themselves and others who are eating)
Limited social gatherings.
(Official campus sponsored events can occur if they are fully supervised, socially distant, outdoors, and food offered is take-away only)
Limited athletic activity.
(Official practices and competitions may proceed under enhance restrictions managed by the Athletic Staff)
Classroom and Lab Learning activity.
(Faculty and students should continue to work together to ensure social distance is being maintained)
Limited contact casual gatherings.
(Students can meet with friends outside, in lounges and common spaces as long as they are wearing their mask and maintaining social distance. Employees should follow similar guidelines and conduct group meetings virtually whenever possible.)
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What We Know About On-campus Transmission
Through our work with students in quarantine and isolation and the State Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC) we have identified three primary ways transmission seems to have occurred with our current cases:
- Students sharing a meal in close proximity with other students.
- Student spending lengths of time in someone else’s residential room or car.
- Students spending lengths of time together in large gathering spaces without social distancing.
Remember a person becomes a contact if they have been within six feet of someone with COVID for 15 cumulative minutes over a 24 hour period.
Testing Center Update
Please remember that the Testing Center is only open Monday-Thursday and is closed on Friday. It is very important that you schedule and attend your testing on the day you are invited. In order for us to get everyone through weekly surveillance testing we need students to be diligent in promptly scheduling testing appointments when invited and showing up at the scheduled time. THANK YOU!
Remember testing is a major component of our in-person learning safety strategy – let’s sign-up and follow through!
Summary testing results are published weekly at: https://enc.edu/covid-19-information/
Thank you again for your cooperation with RCI protocols. We will continue to communicate regularly and transparently with you as the days and semester progresses. Thanks for Protecting the Den!
Blessings,
Jeffrey Kirksey
Vice President for Student Life and Campus Services
Emergency Response Team, Chair
23 East Elm Avenue
Quincy, MA 02170-2999
www.enc.edu
617-745-3718