08-30-22: Campus Community Message

Dear Campus Community, 

Thank you for the care each of you showed for the Fighting Scots community in our first weeks together. Your cooperation with arrival and surveillance testing protocols, the mask mandate in all indoor public campus spaces, and through staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters has made a big difference.

Currently, 98 percent of students are vaccinated. Vaccination is the best course of action to help protect the campus against new variants of the coronavirus. All College of Wooster students are required to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination and boosters, and employees and contracted employees are strongly encouraged to do the same. Learn more about how to report your vaccination status here. 

We have experienced a spike in campus cases over the last few days and currently have 31 positive cases in isolation. While we are still under our campus threshold of 3 percent, Wayne County’s COVID-19 Community Level has now moved to High as of Monday, August 29. In accordance with Wayne County Health Department and CDC guidelines, we will be extending our mask mandate for all indoor public spaces through Tuesday, September 6, at which time we will re-evaluate and make decisions based on the best available data.  

Effective immediately through Tuesday, September 6: 

• Masks are required to be worn by all students, staff, and faculty in all indoor public spaces, with the exception of outdoor practice, in individual living spaces, and personal offices
• Masks are required to be worn in the dining hall and all campus cafés, and can be removed while eating and drinking
• Masks are required in the Scot Center
• Masks are required in the Longbrake Student Wellness Center
• Masks are required when using all College of Wooster transportation
• Masks absolutely must be worn by anyone who is COVID-19 positive or has symptoms of COVID-19, until a negative test has been taken, the required isolation protocol has been completed, and symptoms have passed
• Faculty and staff may continue to require that students and guests wear masks in their classrooms and personal offices

We also will be conducting surveillance testing of teams and other groups based on evidence of potential clusters as defined by the Wayne County Health Department. 

Our campus guidelines are subject to change as conditions on campus and in the local community dictate. We will continue to monitor rates of infection and hospitalization locally and at the state and national levels and will update our campus Community Health Dashboard weekly on Monday afternoons with the latest data. As we’ve done since the beginning of the pandemic, we will rely on masks and testing as levels fluctuate. We will adjust community guidelines as needed on our 2022-2023 Community Health Guide.  

The College is providing high-quality and well-fitting masks, self-administered rapid COVID-19 tests, and “masks required” door hangs to anyone who needs them. Students, staff, and faculty who are experiencing symptoms or would like to monitor their health will be able to pick up masks or a self-administered rapid test at the following campus locations: Lowry Center Information Desk, Andrews Library Circulation Desk, Wellness Center Door A and Door D, and Ruth Williams Hall Storeroom. These items may also be requested in advance through communityhealth@wooster.edu (formerly wooster-covid-19) and someone will be in touch with pickup instructions.  

Upon receiving a positive test, students should contact Longbrake Student Wellness Center either through their individual health portal or call 330-263-2319. Positive students will be instructed to either relocate to dedicated isolation housing or isolate in place, following the practice of several peer institutions. Any student who tests positive and is currently living in a single—whether stand-alone or within a suite or house—will be asked to isolate in place while wearing a mask in all shared spaces. Students in doubles and triples will be asked to move to isolation housing. This is subject to change based on campus’ overall positivity rate. In all isolation cases, it is the student’s responsibility to connect with their faculty on arrangements for completing coursework while they are out. Students who test positive and are in isolation will continue to be assigned a support person through the duration of their isolation period and meals will be delivered to their location. Click here for more information on isolation protocols.

Thank you for your continued dedication to the health and safety of campus. I would also like to extend my deepest thanks to members of the Community Health Taskforce and their teams for their work around the clock to take care of the needs of our students. I wish you all a great week ahead! 

Go Scots! 

Wayne P. Webster
Interim President

Posted in Community Message on August 30, 2022.