Jeff Foster, Dean of Students, and Darrien Davenport, Assistant VP of College Life, share updates for the campus community on this week’s COVID status and testing procedures for next week.
Dear Campus Community,
Every Friday, we will send an email directing you to the College’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The College continues to operate at a moderate alert level. Please note that based on a number of current conditions, including the campus positivity rate and local conditions, the College could change the alert level or enact increased mitigation strategies. The campus community will be notified immediately if the alert level changes and if new mitigation strategies have been enacted.
Reminders and updates
- Please remember that even if you have been vaccinated for COVID-19, you still must follow the safety protocols that are in place, including wearing a mask, physically distancing, and participating in the College’s testing protocols. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is still be possible to spread COVID-19 to others even after you’ve received the vaccine. Please visit the Centers for Disease Control website for more information about the vaccine and a list of frequently asked questions.
- Starting next week, employee COVID testing will be conducted on a walk-in basis on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and Thursdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesday of your assigned testing week, all testers for that week will receive an email from Mobile Health that will allow them to answer the required screening questions and receive a QR code for speedy walk-in testing. A Mobile Health representative will also send this email Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to those who have not yet tested that week. The email is being sent each morning so that it is easier to perform the screening prior to testing. If you are not testing that day, you can delete the email and wait to use the one sent the day of your test. A QR code is not required for testing, but it does result in a significantly faster testing process. On Fridays, Human Resources will also send a reminder email to anyone who does not have a test record in the Mobile Health database for that week.
- Students are required to test twice per week. Either on Tuesday/Saturday or Wednesday/Saturday. As we conclude the week, all students should report to Plank Gym tomorrow (Saturday 3/6) to be tested unless they have an exemption. Those students exempt from testing are already aware of their exemption. Students who miss COVID-19 testing for a second time are subject to being assigned to remote study.
- Please remember that students are required to conduct and record daily symptom monitoring through the Medicat portal.
Thank you for your cooperation this spring semester. If you have questions, please contact covidupdates@gettysburg.edu.
Jeff Foster, D.Ed.
Interim Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students
Darrien Davenport, Ed.D.
Assistant Secretary to the BOT/Assistant Vice President of College Life