Dear Allegheny College Campus Community,
I am writing with an update on the COVID-19 response on campus.
Today we noted an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases on campus.
- 508 Allegheny community members were tested today.
- 17 students tested positive today, all vaccinated, for a total of 27 vaccinated students currently in isolation.
- Four employees tested positive, all vaccinated.
- Two students who are not fully vaccinated are in quarantine off campus.
Everyone who tested positive today has been contact traced. Contact tracing helps by allowing us to notify those who have been exposed. It also allows us to assess the pattern of COVID-19 infections on our campus. This is what we noticed with the uptick today:
- None of the infections appear to be “random.” While the student may say “I have no idea where I got COVID-19,” when we review the contact trace reports as a whole, patterns become obvious.
- Three students became infected from their roommates.
- Six of the students with COVID-19 are contained within one friend group.
- Three other students with COVID-19 are contained within a different friend group.
Of note, four of the students who tested positive continued to socialize while symptomatic, including eating meals with friends in the dining halls and playing video games in the residence halls. One student attended a social event while feeling ill, then took a home COVID-19 test when they arrived home from the event. A better choice is to stay home, mask, and take meals to go when you feel ill.
You may receive an email requesting that you test in the next few days. This is based on our assessment of patterns on campus. Please report for testing if invited, even if you are asymptomatic.
While masks are not required for fully vaccinated persons on our campus, ACHA strongly recommends that you wear a mask this week. Also, keep up that Gator community spirit: if you feel ill, stay home, get tested, and email ACHA.
Finally, COVID-19 is poorly transmitted outside. Allegheny is lovely in the spring; consider taking some long walks with your friends and enjoy our beautiful campus.
Gator strong.
Dr. Morrow