August 13, 2020

Dear Reed students,

We are excited to welcome you back to campus! Today, we write to you about the college’s COVID-19 testing for students upon arrival and updated quarantine information. If you are a student who plans to study remotely and not access the Reed campus in the fall, you can disregard this message.

Students Living On Campus

All students living on campus will be tested for COVID-19 when you arrive for move-in. Because of the increased risk of the spread of COVID-19 in a congregate living setting, students living on campus are expected to quarantine in their rooms until test results are received. You will receive your test result and clearance to leave quarantine via a secure email in the student health portal. While our goal is to get you your test results within 120 hours of your test, the testing laboratory has recently experienced delays and this process may take 2-3 days longer. We are providing this information to you in advance so you can plan accordingly for a possible longer quarantine period.

What does “quarantine” mean if you live on-campus?

Stay in your room, except to do the following:

• Use the bathroom
• Pick up items or food ordered through the mobile dining app from Commons Café (the dining hall)
• Seek emergency medical care

Abide by social distancing and face covering guidelines:

• Wear a face covering at all times when not in your room, except when showering or engaging in oral hygiene
• Maintain a six foot distance from all other community members

We recognize students arriving on campus are eager to make connections with their peers, and virtual community building opportunities will be offered from August 17–31. Student House Advisors will check-in with their residents on the night of their move-in. Every evening, Student Life will host at least one virtual program with which every student will have the opportunity to engage. These programs include a virtual escape room experience, a netflix watch party, and a first-year student wide trivia night with Professor of Economics Jon Rork. In addition, Athletics, Fitness, and Outdoor Programs will be providing a host of live and pre-recorded offerings. The social programs for all students and Orientation events for first-year/transfer students will be listed on Reed’s Events calendar, events.reed.edu, in the coming days.

Students Living Off Campus

All students living off-campus will be tested on campus August 25 and 26. If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for your test. If you have not been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to quarantine or isolate yourself between the time you were tested and when you receive your test result. However, after you have been tested for COVID-19, we ask that you do not expand your current in-person social circle before the start of the fall semester.

We would also like to remind all students to complete the mandatory COVID-19 Prevention and Policy Training, and to start completing the Daily Health Check 14 days before your arrival to campus. Our return to campus will require every community member to diligently follow new protocols to keep each other safe. We deeply appreciate your support in these efforts!

See you soon!

Dr. Carrie Baldwin-Sayre
Associate Dean of Students for Health & Wellbeing

Amy Schuckman
Associate Dean of Students for Student & Campus Life