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Return to the Hilltop

Jan. 24, 2022

We look forward to welcoming everyone to campus for spring term next week. While there are no changes to current COVID protocols, things are looking up. Read below for current data and testing requirements for students returning to campus for spring term.

We continue to see improvements in the data regarding the spread and future spread of omicron in Alabama and Jefferson County. The effective reproduction number (Rt) for the state of Alabama shows another weekly decline, from .89 to .76, implying the rate of transmission should be declining well into February.

COMMUNITY DATA

While the positivity rate for Jefferson County has risen slightly from 38.3% to 39.3% over the past week, the seven-day moving average of daily cases continues to fall. It is hard to draw too much from this conflicting data other than fewer people are being tested and more of those being tested are positive. Perhaps those who are being tested have reason to be tested (like symptoms), and perhaps fewer tests with a relatively stable positivity rate is a sign of improvement.

ADPH Jan. 23, 2022

As expected, the hospitalization rate in Alabama continues to climb. It appears to be headed to the peaks experienced last fall and the previous winter. This is another reason for our community to be cautious. Whether someone in our community must go to the hospital or we spread the virus to someone outside our community who must go to the hospital, there is not much room left to admit new patients.

ADPH Jan. 23, 2022

CAMPUS DATA

Our positivity rate continues to drop, from 21.6% three weeks ago to 17.3% two weeks ago to 6.5% last week.

Our random testing produced five positives out of 144 tests. Other tests (symptomatic and exposed students) produced six positives out of 26 tests. We had zero positive self-reported test. Combined, 11 positives out of 170 tests gives us a positivity rate of 6.5%. We have had another significant improvement.

As of today, we have 11 students quarantined or isolated:

• 5 positives in isolation

• 1 symptomatic student with pending PCRs

• 5 monitors of exposed vaccinated students, pending rapid tests

• 0 quarantines of students who have not reported vaccination to us

This number continues to drop from 38 to 31 and now to 11.

SPRING TERM

All students returning to campus or beginning their time at BSC for spring term who have not reported a completed COVID vaccination must complete testing before attending classes, entering residence halls, or going to other public spaces on campus.

Testing for all returning and new students who must test will be held from noon to 3:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31 in Battle Coliseum. If your travel plans do not allow you to return during that time, please contact studev@bsc.edu to identify an alternative testing process before going to class or being around campus on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

If you have received your vaccination but not yet reported it to us, please do so through the Vaccination Report Form.

If you have received a booster vaccine dose but not yet reported it, please do so through the Booster Report Form.

If you have recently (within the past 90 days) had a positive COVID-19 test, please report it through the Recent Positive Status Form.

For a reminder of campus protocols, please visit, visit the COVID-19 2022 page.

FREE MASKS AND TESTS

Register here to receive four free at-home rapid tests.

The federal government is expected to make available 400 million N-95 masks across the country. They should be free to pick up at pharmacies and community health centers by the end of this week. Three masks will be available per person. Please check your local pharmacies, Walgreens, and CVS locations.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The data shows that prevalence of the COVID-19 virus is falling much faster on our campus than outside our gates in Jefferson County. As we will have an influx of new students next week, it is important that we continue following elevated protocols at least for a few more weeks. Once everyone has settled into the spring term, we will test the entire campus and see where we are in mid-February.

Given our vaccination rate as a community and the mildness of the omicron variant (at least to those who have been vaccinated and boosted), I believe that we need to start weighing the issues related to a loss of socialization for the members of our community due to protocols more heavily.

I am hopeful that we will be able to start to address these issues by loosening protocols soon.

Forward, Ever!

Daniel Coleman

President

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900 Arkadelphia Rd
Birmingham, AL | 35254 US

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