March 26, 2020

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.

COVID Vaccine

Today, Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced an expedited timeline for the next eligible groups for COVID vaccination:

• Individuals eligible under Phase 1B, Group 6 (which includes adults 45-64 with underlying health conditions, people experiencing houselessness, and pregnant people 16 and older, among others) are now eligible starting this Monday, March 29.
• Individuals eligible under Phase 1B, Group 7 (which includes all higher education employees and student workers, among others) are now eligible starting next Monday, April 5.

At this time, Reed has not received any further updates from Oregon regarding vaccine distribution timelines. Small working groups have been diligently preparing COVID distribution and communication plans, so that when vaccine is received it can be provided to the Reed community as quickly as possible. Until that time, eligible individuals should visit the Oregon COVID-19 Vaccination webpage or contact their primary health care provider to find an appointment.

End of Spring and Summer Planning

Reed will be sending a message next week with updates and further information for community members in planning for the post-April 11 portion of the semester and summer break. Watch for this email no later than next Friday, April 2.

Weekly Surveillance Testing Participation

This week, we conducted 1841 COVID-19 surveillance tests on campus. Students who live on campus had an overall participation rate of 92%, while students who live off campus 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 Bidwell, Farm House, Garden House, German House, Griffin, Russian House, Sequoia, and Spanish our winners for their 100% participation this past week! 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.