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February 8 Weekly CIRT Campus Update

CIRT Update

Published February 8, 2021

Dear students, staff and faculty:

Thank you to the 400+ members of our community who joined the first of our bi-weekly community meetings. The next meeting is Wednesday, February 17, from 12:30 to 1 p.m. at https://smith.zoom.us/j/93293837876. Below, please find important campus, regional and national updates from the COVID-19 Incident Response Team (CIRT).

Campus Status

Welcome back, Smithies!

The campus is currently operating in blue mode as we continue to welcome students back to campus.

We want to recognize the extraordinary work of everyone involved in the return-to-campus effort - both the staff who are supporting the students and the students themselves. This has been an unusual start to an unusual semester, but everyone has played a part in its success to date.

As of today, 799 students are on campus.

We are tracking a decrease in cases across the country and here in Massachusetts. However, Hampshire County is seeing an increase in cases which is unique among Massachusetts counties. We believe that this reflects the influx of students and testing at UMass (see below).

If you’re interested in COVID data, this week, we suggest looking at COVID Act Now.

Over the past seven days, there have been three positive cases of COVID-19 reported through the Smith on-campus campus screening program. For more data on the screening program, please visit Coronavirus Screening. Remember: Every time we detect a case before symptoms show, we significantly slow the spread.

UMass

UMass Amherst changed their operating mode on Sunday, February 7, to “High Risk.” This was the result of a large number of new positive tests. This follows a February 5 operating mode change to “Elevated.” “High Risk” is comparable to Smith’s “Red Mode.” This is a significant action by another of the Five Colleges that we are watching closely. According to a campus email, “Contact tracing data indicates that transmission of the virus is especially prevalent among some undergraduate students not following social distancing and mask protocols in social or residential settings, both on and off campus.”

The Smith community is doing a great job so far, but please remember that it doesn’t take much for things to change. We remind Smith students that they may not enter any private residence or visit other college campuses.

Building Access

There have been many questions about how and when buildings will be open on campus. We now have a comprehensive list below the operating plan available. In general, any academic or administrative building that allows OneCard access will be available to any student or employee in the testing program during the hours indicated. The Campus Center doors will remain unlocked until the first day of classes on February 15, when it will become OneCard access only.

PolicyPath App

Smith will soon be rolling out an application called PolicyPath for use by all participants in our asymptomatic screening program. This app - which has a smartphone version and a website version - will prompt you for daily checks of key COVID-19 practices and will also communicate your COVID-19 test results. Look for an email from the testing and tracing program sometime in the next few days.

Lanyards

We wrote about lanyards in our update last week. This week, faculty and staff in the testing program will be issued a gold lanyard when they come to the testing site . Please keep these visible when inside campus buildings.

Downtown Travel

As a reminder, travel off campus, including to downtown Northampton, should be limited to essential needs. Essential needs include purchasing academic supplies, groceries, medical needs, etc. Students are asked not to travel in groups downtown. Due to snow and ice buildup, sidewalks are narrowed and extra caution is required to maintain physical distancing. Like Smith College, Northampton has a mandatory mask order in effect at all times.

Eating on Campus

The COVID-19 info team has fielded several questions about eating on campus. Please use common sense when eating and drinking. Here are a few good ideas:

  • It’s better to eat alone in a separate space.
  • If you’re eating with others,
    • Eat in small groups, in large spaces.
    • Maintain your distance and sit as far apart as possible - at minimum, six feet.
    • Replace your mask if you pause while eating, and then once you are done.
  • Consider these locations
    • Hillyer Atrium
    • Lower Level of Campus Center
    • Classroom Buildings
    • Outside in warmer weather — Cutter/Ziskind courtyard, Quad green, Chapin Lawn, Capen Gardens, Happy Chase Garden, Seelye Lawn, Paradise Pond.

Kitchenettes and Break Rooms

For staff and faculty, we’ve updated guidance on use of campus kitchenettes and break rooms as follows:

Employees may use kitchenettes and common spaces in their office building with the following safety precautions:

  • Capacity must be set at a low enough level to permit physical distancing. For most spaces, this will be limited to one individual at a time.
  • To encourage physical distancing, chairs should be removed from common spaces.
  • Shared food items are not allowed. No items should be left in kitchenettes overnight.
  • Community items, including coffee makers, tea kettles, mugs and silverware or equipment (including sink handles) must be sanitized before and after use.
  • Staff are encouraged to bring their own silverware from home each day.

Please send any questions to covid19info@smith.edu.

COVID-19 Incident Response Team (CIRT)
covid19info@smith.edu



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