July 6 Weekly CIRT Campus Update
CIRT Update
Published July 6, 2021
Dear students, staff and faculty:
Below, please find important campus, regional and national updates from the COVID-19 Incident Response Team (CIRT).
Campus Status
Over the past seven days, there have been zero positive cases of COVID-19 reported through the on-campus campus screening program. For more data on the screening program, please visit Coronavirus Screening.
Employee Return to Campus
The process and timetable (by department) for returning to campus can be viewed here. Cabinet members will coordinate with managers in their areas to prepare for assigned return-to-campus windows and can address any questions. Teams should assume that the physical layout and configuration of campus work spaces will be the same as they were pre-pandemic.
ITS is offering an optional onsite office hour for returning departments, coordinated with a designated departmental liaison. Further information will go out to senior staff and academic admins later this week.
Vaccination for Employees
Smith is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by August 1. In order to meet this deadline, employees may need to begin the vaccination process in the next few days as some vaccines require a 28-day waiting period before the second dose. Medical or religious exemptions will be reviewed and accommodated on a case-by-case basis. Employees should contact HR to discuss this process. Ask your manager who your department’s HR Business Partner is or by contacting Human Resources at hr@smith.edu.
Vaccination for Students
Smith is requiring all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by August 15. In order to meet this deadline, students may need to begin their vaccination process in the next few weeks as some vaccines require a 28-day waiting period before the second dose. Medical or religious exemptions will be reviewed and accommodated on a case-by-case basis. The process to upload documentation of vaccination or to request an exemption can be found here. Those students arriving only partially vaccinated or who have been vaccinated with non-approved vaccines should work with the Schacht Center to determine how to meet the college’s requirement. If you have questions, students should contact the Schacht Center at healthservices@smith.edu or 413-585-2250.
Community Meeting
Please note that our next all community update meeting will take place on July 28. The July 14 community update meeting is cancelled.
As always, please send any questions to covid19info@smith.edu
COVID-19 Incident Response Team (CIRT)
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