March 12, 2020
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
I write to you with our weekly update from the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group. 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.
Multnomah County Moves to "Moderate Risk"
This week, Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced that Multnomah County, where Reed College resides, will be moved from the "High" to the "Moderate" risk category based on COVID-19 activity in the last several weeks. This does not change major components of Reed's operations, but it does allow for increased limits on gathering and event sizes and higher capacity for indoor dining in the Commons. The Reed COVID Prevention and Response Plan will be updated accordingly on our website.
Social Gatherings
With the move to the "Moderate" risk category, the limit on indoor and outdoor social gatherings has increased to 8 and 10 people, respectively. Impromptu gatherings of this size do not need to be approved by the college, although community members are reminded that face coverings and at least 6 feet of physical distancing must be maintained at all times. Individuals are also encouraged to establish small, clearly defined groups of eight (8) people or less who have agreed to limit their close social contacts to only those within the bubble.
COVID Vaccine and Surveillance Testing
We have received questions from the community regarding whether vaccinated individuals need to continue participating in surveillance testing. At this time, we are requiring that individuals in the testing pool for Spring 2021 continue to participate, regardless of vaccination status. The vaccine will not impact the results of your surveillance tests.
Weekly Surveillance Testing Participation
This week, we conducted 1913 COVID-19 surveillance tests on campus. Students who live on campus had a participation rate of 94% while students who live off campus but access campus regularly had a participation rate of 86%.
Below, we've summarized this week's participation among on campus students by residence hall. A special congratulations to residents of French House, Farm House, Spanish House, and Woodbridge, our winners for their 100% participation in testing for the last 5 weeks! Residents should hear from their Area Coordinator this week with instructions on how to claim a treat.
In order to best protect the Reed community, it is imperative that all community members participate in surveillance testing each week. For more information about the Reed COVID-19 surveillance testing program, please visit our website here.
Please help us keep Reed a safe place to live, work, and study by participating in surveillance testing, the weekly risk assessment survey, and, for those both local and remote, all other essential response measures on and off campus.
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.