Dear students, staff, and faculty,

Our current approach at Calvin to COVID includes a variety of good safety measures, including our high vaccination rate, our testing protocols (both surveillance and diagnostic), our sanitation measures and our mask requirements for indoor, public spaces.

To a certain extent though, we are only as good as the personal choices made by each person who is part of our community. The great news is that our community is doing a terrific job helping keep each other safe. Indeed, our isolation and quarantine numbers this week are as good as they have ever been.

We have been so proud of the collective response of Calvin to COVID, and we are grateful. Thank you to all who are taking this pandemic seriously and acting in responsible ways.

While the numbers on campus are great, the numbers in Kent County are, well, not so great. The most recent CDC figures show rising case counts and a test positivity rate of 14.56%. Cases were up 5.2% in the last week, and positivity rates were up 1%. The CDC rates our community transmission as "High," the worst of the four categories (Low, Moderate, Substantial and High).

LINK: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#county-view|Risk|community_transmission_level

So, two things:

1) Be careful out there. Right now, Kent County is a bit of a hotspot for COVID. Stay safe. If you are a student and you have symptoms, even if you are vaccinated, report those symptoms using #CampusClear. Doing so will ensure that all the necessary next steps happen as they should and will work for the safety and protection of you and your friends.

LINK: https://calvin.edu/covid-response/campusclear/

2) Because the CDC continues to recommend that "everyone in Kent County, Michigan should wear a mask in public, indoor settings," we are continuing our own mask requirement for public, indoor spaces. Please continue to wear your mask, and please wear it properly.

LINK: https://calvin.edu/dA/bb02061e10/Calvin%20Masks%20PDF.pdf

We continue to evaluate all aspects of COVID on a regular basis as a COVID Response Team and will update the campus on the mask requirement, and a number of other matters, during the second week of November.

Again, our deep thanks to all who are helping us manage the spread of COVID on campus in such gracious ways by getting vaccinated, getting tested, wearing masks properly and more. Your efforts are appreciated.

The COVID Response Team