COVID-19 Updates

Dear all,

I am writing to update on our COVID-19 test results. Yesterday evening, after 15 days of zero active cases on campus, we received test results that showed five students had tested positive for COVID-19. Each of these students is asymptomatic, and are now in isolation and studying remotely. Contact tracers immediately responded to these new test results and identified ten people as close contacts of the students who tested positive. These close contacts are now self-quarantining for 14 days and studying remotely.

As a reminder, a close contact is anyone who has been within six feet (masked or not) of someone who tests positive, for 15 minutes or more. In large part because people are following guidelines and staying socially distant, the number of close contacts for these five students was, relatively speaking, quite low. While we must keep details confidential, I can report that the contact tracers so far believe that this handful of positive tests is not the result of a single event. We are working with the local health department as we continue to investigate possible sources for these positive test results.

If you have not already been contacted by a contact tracer, then you should go about your daily routines. If you remain worried that you were in contact with someone who tested positive, please reach out to Bridget Romani in Health Services at BrRomani@Vassar.edu.

We will be vigilant in tracking our test results daily and reporting results on the VassarTogether COVID-19 dashboard.

We continue to have strong health and safety protocols in place. If any adjustments are needed, I will be in touch further. Please remember that students may not have visitors to campus and may not leave campus unless approved to do so. These new test results remind us how important it is to continue following the protocols that have been put in place to keep everyone on campus and in the community safe.

Thank you for your continued efforts and please feel free to email me with any questions.

President Bradley

Elizabeth H. Bradley, President
VASSAR COLLEGE
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
@EHBVassar