June 25, 2021
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
I write to you with our weekly update from the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group (CRAG). We have highlighted essential points in yellow.
New Cases at Reed
Since our last update, we have identified no new confirmed COVID-19 cases at Reed. We continue to report all associated COVID-19 cases online, found in the "Total Cases" section of the dashboard.
Updates on Oregon COVID-19 Restrictions
Today, Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced that all state COVID restrictions will be lifted on next Wednesday, June 30 or once 70% of eligible individuals receive at least one dose of vaccine, whichever is sooner. Currently, 68.9% of eligible Oregonians have received at least one dose of vaccine, making it likely that restrictions will remain in effect until the June 30 deadline.
This lifting of restrictions will have a broad impact on campus operations. The COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group will share more information on these upcoming changes in a separate communication no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, June 29.
COVID-19 Vaccine
To inform the development of a safe and healthy campus, Reed asks all community members to share their COVID vaccination records with the HCC (students) or HR (staff and faculty). To do so, and for more information, please visit the Reed Vaccine FAQ.
95% of Reed staff and faculty have been verified as fully vaccinated by the Reed Human Resources team, along with 100% of Bon Appetit staff members. Currently, 85% of students who are living on or accessing campus have reported full vaccination against COVID-19 to the HCC. We are encouraged by these strong vaccination rates, and are grateful to all those who have made it happen!
Surveillance testing next week
Next week, surveillance testing will take place on Thursday, July 1, from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the Student Union. The sign up sheet for these dates will be sent via email today. Please note that, due to the high heat forecast for next Monday (June 28), the originally scheduled surveillance testing for that date will not take place.
At this time, all students, faculty, and staff members who will be interacting with others in person on campus should complete one test per week, regardless of vaccination status. For more information about the Reed COVID-19 surveillance testing program, please visit our website here.
If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group at coronavirusquestions@reed.edu.
Sincerely,
Madison Riethman, MPH, CPH
COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Health Project Manager
Health & Counseling Services
Reporting on behalf of the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group
PS: As a reminder, you can track all our COVID-19 communications to members of the Reed Community here.