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COVID-19

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March 11, 2022

Dear Bentley Community, 

With spring break approaching, we hope that you will be able to enjoy a well-deserved moment to relax and recharge before returning for the second half of the semester. It’s been a busy few weeks on campus, and a lot of important updates have been shared with our entire community of late. So much has changed since the start of the semester, and public health metrics continue to trend in the right direction on campus and across the country.

However, there are a few things that you can continue to be mindful of to protect yourself, your peers and your family members during spring break and when you return to campus in just over a week.

Get Tested (and Stay Home) if you are Sick
If you don’t feel well or have any symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested before returning to campus after spring break using a rapid antigen test or a PCR test. It’s important that you not return to campus if you’re displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 before testing yourself. Keeping yourself healthy and avoiding spreading the virus on campus after break will help to ensure that the rest of the semester goes as planned. Tests are now widely available; consider taking one with you on your travels and testing yourself prior to your return to campus.

Isolation and Quarantine
The isolation and quarantine guidelines put into place at the start of the semester continue to apply for all students, faculty and staff on campus. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, must isolate for at least five full days. If on day 6 you display no symptoms of COVID-19 and have been fever-free for 24-hours without the aid of medication, you can exit isolation, but must wear a mask in all settings through the tenth day.

Those who are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccination, including having received a booster shot, or those who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days do not have to quarantine if displaying no symptoms after being identified as a close contact.

Be Mindful of Community Levels
While many parts of the country are experiencing low or medium COVID-19 community levels, some counties continue to exhibit high rates of infection. Be sure to check this helpful CDC resource to see if you’ll be traveling to an area with a high COVID-19 community level. In those areas, the CDC recommends that you continue to wear a mask indoors and take added precautions if you’re at high risk for severe illness.  

Again, we hope that you’ll be able to enjoy a safe spring break. There is plenty to be optimistic about when it comes to where we are in this stage of the pandemic. However, it’s important that we all do our part to ensure a successful second half of the semester. As we shared earlier this year, it’s important that we do our best to reduce the spread of the virus on campus to avoid overwhelming the important support systems that help keep campus running smoothly. By doing your part to get tested if you’re not feeling well and staying home if you’ve tested positive for COVID-19, you can help ensure that we return from the break on the right foot.

From Spring Day, Inauguration and Commencement to warmer days ahead, there is no shortage of exciting events and engagement opportunities planned for the coming weeks and months. Thank you for doing your part to make sure we can all safely experience these wonderful events and so much more.

Geoffrey C. Bartlett, CEM
Director of Emergency Management

Julia Matthews, MSN, MPH
Director, Health Center