Important COVID-19 Update
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Dear Albion Community,
As part of our Together Safely plan, Albion College added the capacity to test wastewater leaving residence halls for the presence of COVID-19. Today, we received our first wastewater testing program results.
These results indicate that someone shedding the COVID-19 virus used a bathroom in the fraternities sometime between Sunday, August 30, and Monday, August 31.
This person or person(s) could be in the incubation period, in the active infection period, or the post-infection period. Out of an abundance of caution, we are instructing the residents of the fraternity houses to begin immediately observing the same self-quarantine that all students completed at move-in. Fraternity residents will receive instructions by separate email about individual testing of the fraternity residents tomorrow, Thursday, September 3. If no individual is identified through the individual testing, the self-quarantine may be lifted. If an individual is identified, we will follow our positive test response protocol.
Students who do not live in the fraternities should not enter any fraternity housing until further notice. If you do not live in a fraternity house but used a bathroom in a fraternity house on Sunday, August 30, or Monday, August 31 or spent significant time in a fraternity building since Sunday, we ask that you self-identify by emailing Trista Geier at , and begin self-quarantine immediately. Because the health of students, employees and our community is our number one priority, individuals who self-identify as having been present in a fraternity house will not be referred to the College’s student conduct system if they disclose this information themselves.
Wastewater testing did not detect any positive results from Seaton and Wesley Halls. We are currently evaluating the possibility of adding additional buildings to the program.
As you may have seen from recent headlines, many campuses are having outbreaks of COVID-19, including campuses in our backyard. We must remain vigilant and continue to take responsibility for ourselves, for each other and for our community. As a reminder:
- Wear your masks whenever outside your room. Your masks need to cover both your nose and mouth.
- Maintain at least six feet of physical distance between yourself and others. Note, every time you are within six feet of another person for more than 15 minutes, you are considered a close contact, and, should a person test positive for the virus, you will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Monitor your health and practice good personal hygiene, including regularly washing your hands.
- If you are feeling sick, stay in your room.
Faculty who have questions about this notification should contact the Provost’s Office. Staff who have questions about this notification should speak with their supervisor. Students who have questions about this notification should contact the Office of Residential Life.
We will share updates as we have them.
Office of the President
Important COVID-19 Update
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Dear Albion Community,
Today, we learned that one new member of our community has tested positive for the virus. They are in isolation and remain in our thoughts as they focus on recovery. For more information on how, when, and to whom the college reports this data, and the actions we take in all positive test cases please see our Positive Test Response Protocol.
Albion College has now completed and received more than 4500 test results, and identified a total of seven positive cases from our first date of testing. To date, our overall positive testing rate is 0.15%, and our population positive rate is 0.35%. This is significantly lower than the national rate (5.7%) and the rate for the state of Michigan (3.27%).
As the individual who tested positive had already been moved to quarantine due to close contact with a prior positive case, there is no known exposure to other members of our community. Following our public health protocols significantly limits the spread of infection to others.
We must remain vigilant and continue to take responsibility for ourselves, for each other, and for our community. As a reminder:
- Wear your masks whenever outside your room. Your masks need to cover both your nose and mouth.
- Maintain at least six feet of physical distance between yourself and others. Note, every time you are within six feet of another person for more than 15 minutes, you are considered a close contact, and, should a person test positive for the virus, you will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Monitor your health and practice good personal hygiene, including regularly washing your hands.
- If you are feeling sick, stay in your room.
We look forward to coming together safely as a learning community in the weeks ahead. All of us must live the commitment we made, the Albion Community Commitment, in order to be successful. I am confident Brits can do this — and I look forward to a productive, fun, healthy and safe fall semester.
President Johnson
Note:
Testing percentage = % of total tests resulting in a positive.
Population percentage = % of population testing positive.
Important COVID-19 Update
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Dear Albion Community,
Through our testing protocol, we have learned that one new member of our community has tested positive for the virus. They are in isolation and remain in our thoughts as they focus on recovery. For more information on how, when, and to whom the college reports this data, and the actions we take in all positive test cases please see our Positive Test Response Protocol.
Albion College has now completed and received more than 4500 test results, and identified a total of six positive cases from our first date of testing. To date, our overall positive testing rate is 0.13%, and our population positive rate is 0.3%. This is significantly lower than the national rate (5.7%) and the rate for the state of Michigan (3.27%).
Exposure was minimal because this individual was observing good physical distancing and following health protocols. Only four individuals were identified as having been in close contact (within six feet of another person for more than 15 minutes, masked or unmasked, in the 48 hours prior to a positive test) and are now in quarantine.
To avoid remote learning, every one of us must be responsible for taking care of ourselves, taking care of each other, and taking care of our community. As a reminder:
- Wear your masks whenever outside your room.
- Maintain at least six feet of physical distance between yourself and others. Note, every time you are within six feet of another person for more than 15 minutes, you are considered a close contact, and, should a person test positive for the virus, you will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Monitor your health and practice good personal hygiene, including regularly washing your hands.
- If you are feeling sick, stay in your room.
We look forward to coming together safely as a learning community in the weeks ahead. All of us must live the commitment we made, the Albion Community Commitment, in order to be successful. I am confident Brits can do this — and I look forward to a productive, fun, healthy and safe fall semester.
President Johnson
Note:
Testing percentage = % of total tests resulting in a positive.
Population percentage = % of population testing positive.
Important COVID-19 Update
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Dear Albion Community,
Every day we hear news of schools who have been forced to switch to remote instruction. If we want to protect in-person instruction, we need each member of our community to step up - and stay vigilant.
Through our testing protocol, we have learned that two members of our community have tested positive for the virus. They are in isolation and remain in our thoughts as they focus on recovery.
Albion College has now completed and received more than 2500 test results, and identified a total of five positive cases. To date, our overall positive testing rate is 0.2%. This is significantly lower than the national rate (7.0%) and the rate for the state of Michigan (3.31%).
As required by law, we continue to maintain confidentiality and have shared their identities with the Calhoun County Department of Public Health who, along with our own campus health officials, are reaching out to inform close contacts of the need to quarantine. If you receive a call, we encourage you to respond truthfully.
To protect in-person learning, which 90% of students said was a priority, we must follow established protocols more rigorously. We need to work as a community to remain healthy and safe. There will likely be more positives over the next two weeks as the incubation period for COVID-19 runs its course and we continue to identify asymptomatic infections that may have begun before students arrived or been passed from student to student in the first few days on campus. Vigilance over the next 28 days is exceptionally important.
Student Testing Moving Forward: We plan to take additional steps to ensure the health and safety of students living on campus in the weeks ahead through intensive testing by residence hall or fraternity house.
- Students in Seaton and Whitehouse will be tested on Monday, August 24. Pre-scheduled time blocks assigned for each student will follow in a separate email.
- Students living in all other college housing will be tested on Tuesday, August 25 or Thursday, August 27. Instructions for how to schedule your testing time will follow in a separate email.
Protocols for Students Beginning Monday:
- All students must report through the symptom check reporting in the Aura App twice per day.
- All students must have location services enabled for the Aura App on their phones.
- All students must remain on campus unless granted approval to leave through the request process.
- Students who do not meet these requirements will be contacted via email by Student Development staff beginning Monday and could be referred to the student judicial process.
- Additional information about groceries and businesses joining our program will be shared as well.
If we all do not follow our protocols, we will be forced to move to remote learning. As a reminder:
- Wear your masks whenever outside your room.
- Maintain at least six feet of physical distance between yourself and others. Note, every time you are within six feet of another person for more than 15 minutes, you are considered a close contact, and, should a person test positive for the virus, you will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
- Monitor your health and practice good personal hygiene, including regularly washing your hands.
- If you are feeling sick, stay in your room.
We look forward to coming together safely as a learning community in the weeks ahead. All of us must make a commitment to this goal in order to be successful. I am confident Brits can do this — and I look forward to a productive, fun, healthy and safe fall semester.
President Johnson
