Anne Ehrlich, Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students, updates the campus community about current positivity rate trends and COVID policy changes.
Dear Students,
Thank you for your cooperation over these past four weeks as we settle in for a safe and successful spring semester. With our all-student testing period concluding, I wanted to update you on our positivity rate trends and inform you of a few COVID-19 policy changes.
As you know, over the past four weeks we have tested every student on campus once a week. We are encouraged that the positivity rates are on a steady decline and that the students who have tested positive this semester were predominately asymptomatic. To that end, we are updating our COVID-19 policies regarding masking and testing.
COVID-19 Policy Changes
- Masking – Effective immediately, masking is no longer required in residence halls. Masking is still required in all other indoor locations. We will continue to evaluate our masking policy in the coming weeks.
- Testing – Beginning Monday, February 14, testing will no longer be required for fully vaccinated students, although it will be made available to any vaccinated student who desires a test. Fully vaccinated is defined as initial vaccine plus a booster. Students who have an approved exemption or are not fully vaccinated will be required to test once a week. Symptomatic students should test when symptoms arise. Students who choose to test and those who are required to test should continue to test during their assigned testing time. Students who have tested positive within the last 90 days are currently excluded from the testing requirement.
Any student who tests positive through an at home test, local urgent care, or the hospital is required to notify the College of their positive test by emailing covidupdates@gettysburg.edu. Notification of a positive test enables the College to provide resources to ensure the health and safety of our students and the community at large.
Again, thank you for your support in getting our semester off to a good start. If you have any questions, please visit our COVID-19 website or contact covidupdates@gettysburg.edu.
Sincerely,
Anne Ehrlich
Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students