President Trevor: 'It is time to share smiles again!"
The College's accomplishments at keeping positive cases to a minimum, coupled with new Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and plummeting numbers of cases in Ohio and Clinton County, resulted in updated COVID-19 protocols for the campus announced March 2.
As a result of the encouraging current trajectory of the pandemic, WC has issued a mask-optional policy for outside the classroom and increased the number of persons allowed at dining tables in the Student Dining Hall. Facial coverings are still required in classrooms and other indoor academic spaces such as labs.
Also, faculty and staff members can articulate the masking policy for visitors to their private offices. Of course, individuals may continue to choose to wear facial coverings at any time.
The first month of the Spring Semester, starting Jan. 7, saw an elevated rate of positive cases starting with the mandatory testing of students upon their campus arrival following Christmas Break. The expectation that holiday gatherings and the proximity of New Year's Eve to the start of classes — and the known high transmissibility rate of the omicron variant — might result in a COVID uptick early in the term proved true. Positive cases topped out at 164 students and 32 employees. The numbers have been virtually nil since mid-February.
The College's COVID-19 Response Team has met regularly throughout the pandemic and will continue to advise accordingly while monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the campus and greater communities.
President Trevor Bates noted that over the past two years of the pandemic, the College has "heard from every side of every argument" — from students, faculty, staff, parents and families, alumni, community members and health professionals. "All perspectives have been included in our focus on the health and safety of our community.
"I thank you for your input and we ask you to remain flexible, understanding that things can and do change quickly at times," he added. "Most of all, I ask each of you to model our Quaker-inspired core values each day through your words and actions by being respectful and kind to one another."