Photo courtesy of Connecticut College.
Exactly one week after the College entered Alert Level Orange, phones flashed with another email blast from Dean Victor Arcelus.
“We know it has been a trying week,” the email began, “but given today’s news, I am pleased to let you know that we will be shifting to Alert Level 2-Yellow today.”
The College had shifted to Alert Level Orange on Sept. 7 after receiving notice of an influx of positive cases that later totaled 169 students in a single week of testing. Students were effectively quarantined on campus to minimize the spread of disease. Coffee shops were closed, classes were moved onto Zoom, and dozens of students were shuttled into nearby hotels in New London county or isolation housing at the River Ridges.
Today’s email went on to reveal the data acquired through student tests that had come back from Sept. 13, proving that there had been a downward trend in positives on campus. “Monday’s PCR test results yielded 7 positives, and 4 students tested positive with Binax rapid antigen tests in Student Health Services.” This significant drop in cases allowed for the College to move into Alert-Level Yellow, which gives students more of the freedom that they had been clamoring for this week.
In his email, Dean Arcelus also mentioned his conversations with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and Hartford HealthCare about the specifics regarding our Covid outbreak on a campus with a student vaccination rate of roughly 99%. He also shared that there had been a conversation with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). There will be a meeting later in the week for students to attend to discuss Conn’s Covid-19 approach moving forward.
Activities that can now return to in-person include classes, student employment, clubs, and organizations. Fall sports may resume their practices and games, the first of which is men’s soccer today at Bates, field hockey being played today at Endicott College, and women’s soccer being played tomorrow at Coast Guard. The Athletic Center will be open as well as other student spots on campus that had previously been off-limits. Coffee shops are now able to open for take-out. Shain Library will also be extending their hours as student employees are now able to return to their posts.
Students who returned home while we remained in Level Orange must present a negative PCR test before arriving on campus this week. They are also required to return on a day where the Testing Center is open in order to be tested on campus.
“We all have to be thoughtful in following the protocols so that we can continue the downward direction in positive cases. If we stay on this trajectory, we will be able to move to Alert Level 1-Green in the coming days,” Dean Arcelus concluded.
