May 3, 2022
Greetings Reed community members,
We write today to provide an update on the ongoing COVID surge in the Reed community. As we navigate finals and other end of semester activities, we rely on all students, staff, faculty, and guests to monitor their health, stay home if ill, participate in testing, and continue to provide patience and support to each other.
Case count updates
Since last Monday (April 25), we have identified 88 new cases of COVID among Reed community members. A vast majority of these cases were identified through on campus surveillance testing or home testing. We will continue to update the COVID-19 Dashboard with case count information regularly; due to rapidly changing data, please note that these numbers are subject to change.
Symptom profile
Most cases have reported mild symptoms, including sore throat, headache, runny/stuffy nose, fatigue, or cough. This highlights the importance of staying home and seeking testing right away, even if your symptoms are minimal. While very few cases have required follow up care from a medical provider, moderate to severe illness is still possible, even among vaccinated and boosted individuals.
Testing
We would like to thank all the community members who turned out for near-record levels of COVID testing participation last week, with nearly 1800 tests conducted through Friday. As a result, we were able to identify many cases that may have otherwise gone undetected, and take steps to limit the spread to others. We will continue to provide on campus surveillance testing through the end of the semester, and strongly encourage all community members to participate.
IMPORTANT: Following a potential exposure or high-risk event, COVID tests are not reliable until at least 5 days have passed. While you may still choose to test sooner, please keep in mind that the risk of a false negative result is much higher in the first several days. Even if you test negative earlier, please test again at least 5 days following your potential exposure.
This week, testing will be held on Wednesday, May 4, in addition to the regularly scheduled testing dates today (Tuesday, May 3) and Thursday (May 5). Tests are picked up from the Biology building and Student Union by 1PM and shipped from Greenwood at 3PM; please be sure to drop your test off before these cutoff times in order to be included in next day results.
If you have any questions, please contact us at coronavirusquestions@reed.edu.
In health,
Madison Riethman
Reporting on behalf of the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group
Gary Granger, Director of Community Safety
Karnell McConnell-Black, Vice President for Student Life
Kathy Oleson, Dean of the Faculty & Professor of Psychology
Tawana Parks, Dean of Students
Hugh Porter, Vice President for College Relations & Planning
Madison Riethman, COVID-19 Response Coordinator
Suzy Renn, Professor of Biology
Timmie Rochon, Medical Services Director
April Sams, Director of Risk Management & Environmental Health and Safety
Lynn Valenter, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer
PS: Our COVID-19 Dashboard includes current information on the total number of cases, vaccination rate, and other public health indicators. Additionally, all our COVID-19 communications are cataloged here.