From Union College -
Union College President Marcia Hawkins, Ph.D. released a statement today in regard to multiple positive cases showing up among those on campus that have been recently tested for COVID-19.
"Thank you, students, faculty and staff, for your concerted efforts to make the Fall 2020 semester a safe and rewarding experience for all of us. All the planning and preparation on the part of faculty and staff that has taken place since spring in order to have as normal a fall as possible, have paid off as we successfully launched this unique semester. It hasn’t been easy, and many adjustments have been made as we work together to provide a college experience in a variety of formats.
A significant part of the planning process included protocols for coronavirus testing and quarantining, based on CDC and Public Health recommendations. For instance, our athletics division staff are screening student athletes every morning, maintaining records on each student’s class and training schedules for ease of tracing contacts if necessary. In addition, we are testing student athletes by sport.
Beginning on Friday of this past week and continuing through Monday, our local Public Health department tested 200 Union College individuals. Today, we were notified that 24 have tested positive for the virus. The Public Health department staff is on campus today to notify each student who tested positive. Those students will be interviewed to determine with whom they may have been in ‘transmissible’ contact: In other words, in contact without a mask while within six feet of another individual for more than 15 minutes. I cannot stress enough that absolute honesty with contact screeners is vital to help us prevent the future spread of the virus.
The Public Health director has indicated that these positive cases are not a threat to the community. The students testing positive and those identified as being in transmissible contact will be quarantined and retested. Some may choose to quarantine at home. Some positive cases and quarantined students have already gone home, and Public Health will continue to monitor those individuals.
We will continue to monitor campus health daily and will keep the campus community informed.
Thank you, and Go Bulldogs!"
Marcia Hawkins, Ph.D.
President
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