Merry Christmas from the Covid Response Team!
Congratulations on making it to the finish line in another semester impacted in various ways by the ongoing pandemic. It was not always easy, but we stayed in person all semester. That’s a credit to this community and to our high vaccination rates (85% for students and 90% for faculty and staff), as well as the success of our many mitigation efforts, including masking, social distancing, surveillance and diagnostic testing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine, and more.
Thank you for all that you did this semester to allow us to be together!
In this final update of 2021, we have just two items, but both are important, and we ask that all students and employees pay close attention to them:
- Surveillance testing pilot for spring semester
- Masks in the new year
According to the website preachingandworship.org, the season of Advent counteracts the hype of the commercial Christmas madness and allows us to await with hope and anticipation the great event of the incarnation. May that Advent promise be yours as well.
Surveillance Testing Pilot
After a semester of mandatory surveillance testing for unvaccinated students, staff, and faculty, we have learned a lot about how surveillance testing and diagnostic testing best work together and how they function alongside our other mitigation measures (vaccinations, masks, social distancing, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine, and more).
We have no doubt that vaccinations have been the most important piece of the puzzle on our campus in terms of mitigating Covid spread.
We are so grateful for our robust vaccination numbers, and we continue to urge anyone who has not been vaccinated yet to consider doing so. There is evidence that waning immunity has led to increased cases (though typically mild) among the vaccinated, while those with boosters seem to be better protected. We encourage those who are able to get boosted.
When it comes to testing, we have found that early symptom-reporting (through #CampusClear), followed by rapid diagnostic testing, has been a key component to our success this semester.
Careful attention to symptoms and diagnostic testing is by far the most effective and impactful way that we catch Covid on campus and stop its spread. That applies to both unvaccinated and vaccinated members of the community.
We are eager to continue to find ways to support Calvin community members to identify and respond to potential Covid cases as early as possible. Thus, we are launching a three-week pilot upon our return to campus in January. From the start of classes on January 10 through January 31, we will be offering optional surveillance testing at no cost to all vaccinated or unvaccinated students. We will not be requiring surveillance testing of unvaccinated students as we did in the fall semester. Instead, testing will be optional for all and encouraged for all.
Our mandatory surveillance testing of unvaccinated employees will continue upon our return to campus in January, and we also are offering free surveillance testing to any vaccinated employees who might like it. In addition, mandatory testing of unvaccinated student-athletes will continue.
During this pilot phase for students, we will evaluate the response rate to the new testing option and measure our on-campus environment, including case rates, test positivity rates, use of #CampusClear, and the student health portal, and isolation and quarantine numbers. We will then decide on how best to continue surveillance testing for the remainder of the winter/spring semester, and any further tweaks to surveillance testing will be communicated later in January.
We also are not requiring return-to-learn testing as we did for the start of the fall semester. We did not require return testing following Fall Break or Thanksgiving Break, and we were pleased to see that the campus community effectively managed any emergent symptoms and sought diagnostic testing as needed. This approach helped mitigate potential outbreaks and gives us confidence that the community is well-versed on what to look for and how to respond.
Additionally, since testing for asymptomatic individuals will be available at no cost for the first three weeks of classes as part of the pilot surveillance testing program, we encourage anyone in our community who would like a test to take advantage of the opportunity upon their return to campus. This could simply be for peace of mind after the holidays and travel as well as for peace of mind for asymptomatic students or employees who have had recent contact with someone who tests positive.
Testing will be available at the Tennis and Track Center clinic on a walk-in basis in January with the following hours:
- Mondays, 9-3
- Tuesdays, 9-3
- Wednesdays, 9-noon
- Thursdays, 9-noon
- Fridays, noon-3
Mask Mandate Remains
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website says this in reference to Kent County (where current Covid numbers are improving but still not good): Everyone in Kent County, Michigan should wear a mask in public, indoor settings. Mask requirements might vary from place to place. Make sure you follow local laws, rules, regulations, or guidance.
Given persistently high local case rates and the fact that we will be welcoming people back to campus from a variety of regional, national, and global locations when we return to campus in January, we will continue to require masks in all public, indoor settings.
As was the case this past semester, there are several places on campus where masks are not required (including private offices and numerous residence hall settings) but there will also be several places where they continue to be required (classrooms, Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex, Hekman Library, auditoriums, etc.). If you see a sign that notes masks are required, please abide by that requirement.
Also, as is the case with the new pilot surveillance testing program, the mask requirement in indoor public spaces will be in effect until at least February 1. During the month of January, we will evaluate any possible changes to the requirement that might be appropriate beginning in February, depending on local and on-campus case numbers, positivity rates, vaccination rates, variants, and more. We will communicate a mask mandate update by or on January 31.
Christmas Plans
We have about 150-170 students who will stay on campus during the Christmas holidays.
We will have a number of staff who will be on-call to assist these students with things they might need, including Covid-related concerns. The #CampusClear app will also be updated with all the information a student might need during the holidays, and students residing on campus over the holiday break will receive direct communications from Student Life with more details.
We wish safety to all who are traveling and gathering with loved ones this season. See you in ’22!
The Covid Response Team (responseteam@calvin.edu)
Jennifer Ambrose
Eric Arnoys
Laura Champion
Bear de Boo (Student representative)
Phil de Haan
Todd Dornbos
Andy George
Brian Paige
Jane Prins
Katie Verhulst
Sarah Visser, chair
John Witte
Cindy Wolffis