Dear Allegheny Students,
We are happy to report that the campus quarantine process has been observed according to plans. The most recent test results have been better than expected, and students have been great at abiding by the Gator Pledge and following face covering and distancing policies.
While we have had students test positive, we have had an unprecedented collaboration between the Allegheny College Health Agency (ACHA), College leadership, faculty, and students resulting in less than 1% of our student population with COVID-19 at any time. The current positivity rate is 0.1%.
We are now ready to end the campus-wide quarantine except for anyone who has been designated for individual quarantine by the ACHA. The ACHA has recommended and the administration has approved an end to the quarantine, effective 9 a.m. September 15.
What does this mean for each student?
This means that any student who is not currently positive nor under individual quarantine restrictions may travel off campus into the local community. Anyone doing so must follow all of the mitigation efforts you also follow on campus: always wearing a mask, keeping physical distance, washing hands, using common sense.
- Travel to restricted states is not permitted. If traveling outside of the county, please complete the Off-Campus Travel Form.
- Students may leave campus for appointments and shopping. Continue to use delivery and curbside options whenever possible.
- Students may eat in restaurants only where they are able to appropriately physically distance.
- Off-campus work is restricted to only those who rely on the income to pay for their livelihood. Please contact ACHA for more information.
- All vehicles must be at one-half capacity, masks must be worn, and students should spread out to maximize physical distance.
Beginning September 21, we will be screening cohorts of 60 students, faculty, and staff per day, five days a week. This will enable us to identify new clusters of COVID-19 and take swift and appropriate action to isolate them, keeping the campus as safe as possible. These groups are specifically formed to represent all residence halls, athletic teams, and other easily-identified cohorts on campus. We will cycle through our entire community every 32–35 days.
While Allegheny College has shown that it was better prepared and more diligent in meeting COVID-19 prevention requirements than many other colleges and universities, if we hope to remain open for in-person living and learning through November 20, the situation will continue to require careful monitoring. Individual responsibility requirements for anyone leaving campus overnight are listed BELOW.
Important Updates and Reminders
- Please note that, starting September 15, the Wise Center will be open for use by students, faculty, and staff only. There will be limited hours and new COVID-19 protocols in place. The Wise Center will use a reservation system for individuals working out since every space in the facility will have limited capacity. Further details about reserving a time will be shared with the campus community. Also on September 15, athletic teams will begin their first phase of training which will be closely supervised by the coaches, who have been invaluable in helping to contain the recent cluster of COVID-19 cases.
- There can still be no gatherings, no parties, no visitors to the residence halls from off campus, or other behaviors that put the health and safety of the community at risk. In general, the only person you should be within six feet of without a face covering is your roommate.
- A few students have rightfully asked why, after the campus quarantine ends, we are planning to bring admissions visitors to campus, including athletic recruits. We want to be clear that we are doing so under the strict guidance of our epidemiologists and medical professionals, who approved the protocols necessary to move forward with allowing visitors on a very limited scale based on guidelines set forth by the CDC. Some of those guidelines consist of health screening questionnaires, face coverings at all times, scheduled time between visitors, vastly reduced numbers of visitors permitted, and limited exposure to campus buildings. Walk-in visits are not allowed and we are not permitting students to visit from CDC restricted areas.
If you have any questions about our guidelines moving forward, take a look at the updates to the Plans to Reopen Allegheny College site. We continue to do our best to update the site, although things are moving quickly in real-time, so we appreciate your patience and attention as any changes are needed.
Sincerely,
The team at the Allegheny College Health Agency
Individual Responsibility Requirements for Students Leaving Campus Overnight
- Students who leave campus overnight are required to quarantine in their room upon their return. If the student has a roommate, they will quarantine in a designated quarantine area, such as Edwards Hall or Allegheny Hall.
- Upon return to campus, the student will be asked to quarantine for four days and then get a test on day five (or the next testing date after day five, as testing is not available every day). Quarantine continues until a negative result is returned or 14 days have passed.
- Important Exception: any student traveling to a state that is currently on the Pennsylvania quarantine list is required to quarantine on campus for 14 days with no option to end quarantine early with a test.