Dear Allegheny College Campus Community,
Last week, 1,184 students participated in COVID-19 PCR testing. Six students were positive.
This bodes well for a safe in-person semester. Congratulations, Allegheny students!
When evaluating the students who tested positive, I primarily noted common living situations and proximity/physical connections to students who tested positive during prior testing sessions in the past several weeks. I did not find any egregious behavior among those who are positive, so if you find yourself ascribing poor motives to COVID-19 positive students, please reconsider. The reality is that this is a highly contagious virus — far more contagious than influenza with a longer incubation period — so people who live in close proximity to each other are likely to infect each other.
There are rumors that dining service lines are causing COVID-19 outbreaks. As mentioned above, I am aware of where our students caught COVID-19; it was not from waiting in line. However, we hear the concern, and we want everyone to be as safe as possible on campus. Therefore, Parkhurst staff spent the weekend refining their processes. Thank you, dining staff, for working hard to keep our students safe.
Rapid Antigen Testing
The rapid antigen testing site is now open. We will be testing approximately 120–160 people daily. You need an invitation to test; there are no walk-ins. Please keep your appointment time. Also, plan for a positive result, just in case: employees should bring keys, wallet, and phone, and students should bring supplies for a potential 10-day isolation. No one who tests positive may return to their workspace or living space. We have a quiet room reserved at the Wise Center for those who test positive to gather their thoughts, call family, and plan their isolation.
Travel Restrictions
The Pennsylvania Department of Health lifted its travel restrictions today. However, the CDC still recommends limiting travel. Allegheny College is a small community in which we strive to keep students living in a congregant setting as safe as possible. Therefore, for now we are keeping our travel policy for employees and students in effect. We will continue to evaluate this on an ongoing basis.
Campus Quarantine
Campus quarantine is planned to continue through March 4. The CDC recommends that Institutions of Higher Education test students who are socially connected or live near any positive students. Over the next few days, we will be administering rapid tests to a random sampling of students and also to students who might have shared a bathroom or other space with a student who is positive for COVID-19. If we feel that we have uncovered and managed all possible areas of contagion before March 4, we will happily lift the campus quarantine earlier.
Students of Allegheny College: congratulations on your low positivity rate thus far. Well done.
Dr. Morrow