To all faculty, staff, administrators, students, and families:

We have repopulated our school community with 518 boarding students, 318 day students, and 380 remote learners. Arrival quarantine has concluded for all boarding students. Our in-person classes have started to meet this week. This represents assurance that our campus protocols have been working well.

We also know that the town of Andover, Essex County, and the state of Massachusetts are seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases. We have been tracking this data closely and will continue to do so. Essex County continues to see the highest numbers of daily new cases of all counties in Massachusetts.

We are writing today with an update on COVID-19 cases within our campus community. In the last 48 hours, two day students and one campus dependent tested positive for the virus. All are isolating at home and are doing well. Contact tracing began as soon as we were informed of the positive results. All close contacts or potential close contacts have been notified, and close contacts are in quarantine at home. None of the individuals who tested positive or their close contacts reside in a dorm.

These new cases are consistent with the rise in infections seen in communities around us. They also prompt us to review our own protocols and guidance aimed at keeping the campus community safe.

In response, we have decided to require day students to increase their frequency of testing. Beginning the week of October 25, all day students will be tested three times a week on campus. Testing will occur on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. (Details about times and sign-ups will come from the ACT team.)

As a reminder, all boarding and day students must abide by the Non Sibi Safety Pledge. Anyone found in violation of any element of the pledge will move to remote learning for the rest of the fall term.

Over the next several days, we will continue to think about our community health protocols and determine whether data and emerging evidence suggest that additional changes are necessary. Thank you for your care and attention to the health and safety of our entire community. Please send any questions to sykeswellness@andover.edu.

Sincerely,

Raynard Kington, MD PhD, P’24
Head of School

Amy Patel, MD
Medical Director