Dear Rhodes Community,
Yesterday morning, we received all of the results of this week’s asymptomatic testing. The results are posted to the college’s COVID-19 Dashboard. Our positivity rate is below 2%, that’s good news. However, as I shared over the last two days, we did identify two clusters this week that were tied to small gatherings of students where masks weren't worn. Our health and safety plan is working by identifying positive cases through testing and isolating their possible contacts. Because of these measures, most of those who tested positive were already in quarantine; however, these clusters are concerning, and we all need to do our part to keep our community healthy.
I want to remind everyone to stay vigilant about proper masking, social distancing, and symptom monitoring, especially as we head into the weekend. Small social gatherings of 4-10 students have pushed up our quarantine rate. We have more than 100 student cases in isolation and quarantine. We need to take some additional steps to limit the spread of the virus on campus.
- Assume everyone is contagious and act accordingly. Wear your mask when interacting with others and keep at least six feet of distance. If you have symptoms: isolate yourself immediately, and contact Health Services. The Symptomatic Student Protocol can be found here.
- Twice a week asymptomatic testing required. Next week we will begin testing twice a week for all residential students and student athletes. Failure to report for weekly asymptomatic testing requirements will result in your not being permitted on campus. An updated testing schedule can be found here.
- Be extra careful when you’re eating. Our health advisors have notified us that many people are infected while dining with others. I know this is hard; we all want to socialize. Try to set up a meal buddy system, identify one or two people and eat together as a pod.
- Form a COVID-19 pod. We are seeing spread on our campus where mid-size groups of 4-10 people are coming together unmasked and not socially distant. The result is the whole group ends up in quarantine for a minimum of ten days with no ability to test out. Identify 3-4 people, and create a pod. Hang out, socialize, eat with only your pod. If we can connect in pods for the next few weeks, we will greatly diminish spread.
- Remote student organization meetings and events. For at least the next week, student organization and club meetings must be held remotely.
The next two weeks are key. We need to work together to limit the spread of the virus. If we are successful and our number of infections begins to drop, then we can begin scaling back some of these restrictions. If cases continue to rise, then we will need to implement additional, more immediate and aggressive campus restrictions.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me and the Student Life team at studentlife@rhodes.edu or by phone at (901)843-3815
As I have shared with you before, I believe we as a community can do this. We belong to each other, and we can do hard things. The Rhodes community has the power to both stay connected and stay safe!
-mhw
Meghan Harte Weyant, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Life