November 20, 2020

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

I write to you with our weekly update from the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Group.

Since our last update, we have identified three new COVID-19 cases at Reed. The cases were notified and placed in isolation promptly after their positive results were identified. Thanks to diligent adherence to COVID prevention measures and quick test turnaround times, no close contacts were identified among Reed community members. Reed continues to report all associated COVID-19 cases online, found in the "Total Cases" section of the dashboard.

Although on-campus instruction for the semester ends today, November 20, we recognize that there are students, staff, and faculty who will continue to be on-campus and engaging with others in-person until the start of the spring semester on January 25. During this time, many of our COVID response activities will continue to take place, including the weekly risk assessment survey, the daily health check, and surveillance testing. As a reminder, any students planning to conduct work or academic activities on campus between November 22 and January 25 must obtain faculty or staff approval and make a request via email to community safety (community-safety@reed.edu) and one-card (one-card@reed.edu). This process ensures students have card swipe access to the appropriate buildings and are included in weekly surveillance testing. Faculty and staff members who will continue to work with groups on-campus during this time should submit this form to ensure they are included in surveillance testing and on other important communications.

Record-setting COVID-19 activity continues to be reported daily in the state of Oregon and across the country. Reed community members preparing for travel should monitor COVID-19 activity by state or country, and review the CDC's guidance on travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oregon Health Authority has also shared guidance for college students leaving campus for the semester, with useful information on how best to protect family, friends, and the community on the trip home.

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.