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3-18-22: Campus Community Message

COVID-19-COMMUNITY-MESSAGE

Dear Students, Families and Colleagues,

I write to provide an update on our campus COVID mask policies. As many of you know, on Friday, February 25th, the CDC revised its COVID guidance regarding wearing masks.  The new guidance says that masks are not required when transmission in an area is low.  Wayne County has had very low transmission rates for over a month (fewer than 4 cases/100,000), and our campus has also had very low case rates over the last several weeks, with zero positive tests out of 191 completed last week.

While most colleges and universities have gone mask-optional in the weeks since the CDC’s announcement, here at Wooster we decided to stick with our mask policy until spring break, and then carefully assess what next steps we should take.  As always, our decisions are guided by expert public health guidance.  We have also surveyed our campus (students, staff, and faculty) and talked with colleagues at peer institutions to learn from their experiences (as many have now been mask-optional for several weeks).  Most peer campuses are doing well with mask-optional approaches, and the large majority of Wooster students (816/946), faculty (73/111) and staff (222/247) who responded to the survey support loosening our current mask mandates.  We also heard very thoughtful input about caution following spring break travel, the challenges of working jobs that are physically demanding while masked, the importance of making it safely to the end of the term with all the planned activities, the upward trend in cases taking place in Europe and Asia, and, especially, the importance of support and respect for those who have particular medical needs – either personally or among family members.

Here is a summary our plans, which have been developed after careful consideration.

  1. Go to a mask-optional policy gradually, starting with residence halls and fitness facilities, which many of our peers have successfully had mask-optional since the beginning of the semester.
  • Starting on Monday, 3/21, students may go without masks in their residence halls if they wish to do so, and masks will be optional when working out at the Scot Center.
  • On Sunday, 4/3, (one week after spring break) we will expand the mask optional policy to the rest of campus if conditions permit, retaining the right of staff and faculty to require masks in spaces such as their classrooms, meeting rooms and individual offices if they wish to do so.
  1. Continue to monitor the health of campus through waste-water and individual testing, as well as local and national data, with readiness to return to more universal masking at any time.
  2. Continue to provide high-quality masks that protect the wearer (N95 and KN95), to ensure that individuals have the tools to protect themselves.
  3. Continue the vaccine and booster requirement for students.
  4. Continue to encourage respect for all members in our community. People have a wide variety of needs, experiences and concerns.  Anyone who wishes to mask will be supported in doing so – at any place and time.

Below are the details of our plans, which you will also find regularly updated in our campus guide https://wooster.edu/guide/.

Mask Policies:

Monday, 3/21 – Saturday, 4/2

  • Masks are optional in residence halls.
  • Masks are optional when working out at the Scot Center
  • Masks are required in all other indoor spaces.

Starting Sunday, 4/3 (conditions permitting)

  • Masks are optional in all indoor spaces on campus, with the following exceptions

Masks may be required in specific, bounded private spaces as detailed below. The requirement should be made clear through signage. Door tags that say “Masks required beyond this point” are available upon request by emailing wooster-covid-19@wooster.edu with your name and campus address. Because there will continue to be some spaces on campus that require masks, everyone should carry a mask with them when moving about campus in case it is needed.

  • Masks will continue to be required at the Longbrake Wellness Center (as is the case at health care facilities around Ohio.)
  • Masks may be required in classrooms, studios, and laboratories, at the discretion of the instructor.  (Faculty are encouraged to let their students know whether their classrooms will be mask-optional before April 4th.)
  • Masks may be required in individual offices and conference rooms, at the discretion of the occupant, supervisor, or host. (Those hosting meetings after April 3rd are encouraged to be in contact with the participants.)
  • Masks may be required in private student residential spaces, with consensus from all occupants. (So, for example, if all students in a house wish for masks to be required at their house, they may do so.)

Testing:

The pandemic is ever-changing, and monitoring is important.  The College will continue to monitor waste-water.  Those who are unvaccinated will continue to be required to test weekly.  In addition, we encourage you to take the opportunity to test soon after returning from spring break travel.  To make that easier, we are offering additional, open drop-in testing times for rapid tests.

Week of 3/21

Tuesday 11a – 2p Wellness Center Conference Room

Wednesday 10a-1p Wellness Center Conference Room

Thursday 11a-2p Wellness Center Conference Room

Week of 3/28

Monday 11-2 Old Main Café

Tuesday 8a-4p Wellness Center

Wednesday 8a – 11a Wellness Center

Thursday 11-2 Old Main Café

My tremendous thanks to everyone who has done so much to create a wonderful and safe year on our campus! We will be in touch again with updates by April 1st . In the meantime, if you have questions, please feel free to reach out to wooster-covid-19@wooster.edu.

I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Sarah Bolton

Posted in Community Message on March 18, 2022.