Dear Students,
We hope that your week is off to a good start as we officially enter the spring. The on-campus restrictions in place since March 11 are set to end tomorrow morning. We are confirming today that testing indicates we can begin easing those restrictions starting Tuesday, March 23 at 7:00 a.m.
A lot has been asked of you this term, and we appreciate the work you’ve done to keep yourselves and others healthy and safe. Please remember to continue to follow on-campus face-covering and physical-distancing requirements at all times so we can avoid new restrictions before the term ends. Our top priority remains your safety. If that means future restrictions are needed, we will do what is needed to reduce the number of positive cases on our campus.
Beginning tomorrow morning, the following spaces and services will reopen on campus:
- Classrooms and Academic Spaces – In-person classes will resume for residential students and off-campus students enrolled in the screening testing program. The Library will resume in-person services.
- Dining – In-person dining across campus will resume, with all previous occupancy limits and face-covering requirements in place.
- Fitness Center and Pool – The Fitness Center and pool will reopen with limited occupancy.
- Harvard Shuttle – The Harvard Shuttle will resume normal hours of operations, including weekend service. The last shuttle leaving Harvard Square will depart at 10:30 p.m.
- Athletics – NE-10 Conference spring sports will resume activities. All other sports will resume modified training and conditioning only.
Though numbers are trending in the right direction, the virus has not been eradicated from our campus. Students are required to continue to follow face-covering and physical-distancing requirements when socializing with anyone inside of their residence hall who is not their direct roommate. Inter-residence hall visitation will continue to be prohibited.
Additionally, students should continue to avoid off-campus travel unless absolutely necessary. Many cases last fall and this spring have been linked to off-campus travel. Any residential students leaving campus overnight are required to complete the “Off-Campus Travel Form” in the Housing Portal, to show a negative test result from after leaving campus when they return, and remain in self-quarantine until obtaining negative results from two on-campus tests on non-consecutive days.
This has been a challenging year for all of us, but we are thankful for your partnership in keeping our community safe. It will take all of us doing the right thing this spring to ensure our success, and just one instance of someone not following the health and safety guidelines could jeopardize that. Please continue to do your part in the coming weeks, and thank you for your cooperation thus far.
Dean Shepardson
Provost Blancero