Dear Andover Community,
As we begin our second week of classes, we have enjoyed a renewed vitality on campus and connections to one another. We have also enjoyed seeing our students return to classes and the dorms as we all develop some sense of a new normal.
Part of this new normal includes living with the presence of COVID and doing our part to keep the community safe. We have seen some cases of COVID on campus, as expected. And fortunately, none of our community members has had severe illness.
We will continue to be mask-optional in all indoor spaces with some exceptions. Masks must be worn by:
- Anyone within the 10-day period after testing positive for COVID (except while actively eating/drinking or performing personal hygiene).
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Anyone within the 10-day period after last close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID (except while actively eating/drinking or performing personal hygiene).
- Anyone who has any symptoms of illness. Students should mask and come to the Sykes Wellness Center for evaluation; adults should mask and see their primary care doctor.
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Anyone in a healthcare space on campus (Sykes Wellness Center or any athletic training room).
We will continue to test students who have symptoms in line with COVID, as well as students who are close contacts on day 6 (sooner if they develop symptoms).
Students who test positive for COVID and do not feel well are encouraged to rest and recuperate while in isolation. Parent(s)/guardian(s), please reach out to sykeswellness@andover.edu or call 978-749-4455 to let us know if your student will not attend class. Students that feel well while in isolation should be in touch with their teachers to determine how to access their classes remotely.
We also ask families to help by coming to Andover to take care of your student if they test positive or take them home if you are within driving distance. We have expanded our capacity in the Sykes Wellness Center as much as possible by adding cots to our extended care rooms and classrooms.
We will not change our masking or testing protocols at this time. We have seen a rise in COVID numbers, and we expect that numbers will continue to rise and fall. Data will continue to be reported out weekly.
The addition of the bivalent COVID booster, specifically targeting the current dominant omicron strain, is available and is required to keep students up to date with recommended COVID vaccination. This added layer of protection should help to reduce illness and transmission as well. There will be a clinic on campus this Saturday, September 17 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., as noted in an email from the Sykes Wellness Center on September 7.
Our approach to follow the data and the science has worked to keep us learning in person for more than two years. We will continue to use these guiding principles to move us into the next phase of the pandemic, moving us toward an endemic approach.
Sincerely,
Raynard Kington, MD, PhD, P’24
Head of School
Amy Patel, MD, P’26
Dean of Health and Wellness, Chief Medical Officer