An Update on COVID Cases, Mask Mandate, Visitor Policy, Travel, and Testing
A COVID-19 Update
- Update on COVID cases
- Mask mandate update
- Visitor policy update
- Traveling off-campus
- Testing
- Response Team office hours
To the Bard College community,
It has been wonderful to see students, faculty, and staff enjoying the beginning of the semester together. As we all settle into the new semester, we would like to help familiarize the campus community with some of our key safety protocols. Many of these protocols should be familiar to returning students and faculty and staff. As a fully-vaccinated campus, our first and most effective line of defense was already in place when the semester began. It is important to remember that COVID is present in the surrounding community. We cannot put up a wall around our campus, nor do we want to. Our safety protocols - chief among them our vaccination mandate - help us in achieving our goal of preventing serious illness in the Bard community while enabling us to continue in-person learning and a more normal campus life.
Update on COVID cases
Vaccination has proven to be very effective in not only preventing serious illness but also in decreasing the likelihood of transmission in the relatively rare instances of vaccinated individuals becoming infected with COVID. This is borne out by our recent experience on campus. All of our randomized testing this semester has been negative for COVID, including almost 300 tests administered yesterday. We currently have four active cases of COVID that were identified through symptomatic testing - three students and one employee. All were vaccinated and have been isolated. The Bard Contact Tracing team was quickly in touch with potential close contacts, and Bard Health Services conducted precautionary testing of those who may have had some type of interaction with the positive cases but were not considered close contacts. The fact that all of our randomized tests to date and the testing of close and potential contacts, including roommates, have been negative demonstrates that our protocols, particularly vaccination, play an important role in containing infection and helping prevent community spread. See the dashboard on the Bard COVID page for updated information on vaccination rates and campus cases.
Mask mandate update
Last month we announced an indoor mask mandate for the first two weeks of the semester. Having carefully reviewed CDC guidance and consulted with local public health authorities during this time, we have determined that the mandate for mask wearing indoors on campus will remain in effect until further notice. We will closely monitor and evaluate the situation, and will review our masking protocols again before the end of the month.
Bard’s Security office and mask dispensers around campus are supplied with masks for use in case of emergency. Please take only what you personally need.
Visitor policy update
We wish to remind you that visitors to indoor campus facilities are only allowed with prior approval and must show proof of vaccination as part of that approval process. Only Bard employees may request visitor approval by submitting this form. Students who wish to host a visitor for a club activity or other reason should contact the Dean of Students office for guidance. Visitors are not currently allowed in the dorms. In order for the Response Team to have sufficient time to review and process the Essential Visitor Request form, please submit it at least 72 hours before the visit in question.
All visitors, including those who are here for group events such as classes, sporting events, or conferences, will be required to remain masked while indoors, with the exception we have previously outlined: a professor or speaker may be unmasked while physically distanced at the front of the classroom or at a podium.
The campus grounds remain open to visitors.
Traveling off campus
We ask members of the Bard community to be mindful of your behavior off campus, where rates of COVID continue to be significant and vaccination rates are much lower than on campus. Mask-wearing is strongly encouraged in all indoor settings including public transportation, as are all of the familiar protocols, such as frequent hand washing and avoiding large crowds, particularly in areas where vaccination levels are low. Act judiciously, wear a mask and practice physical distancing where directed and recommended, and remember that our collective efforts support campus health.
Student Clubs and Organizations wishing to organize activities off-campus should register their event with SPARC to be sure they understand and are following all current guidelines and expectations. All students, faculty, and staff planning to participate in or organize trips off campus are asked to abide by these travel guidelines:
- Masks worn at all times on shared transportation
- Meals should take place outside if possible, or in private quarters. Groups should refrain from eating in restaurants.
- Masks indoors at all times when possible
Anyone who has questions about planning for off-campus activities is welcome to email the Response Team or attend our office hours (see details below).
Testing
Any student experiencing symptoms should contact the Bard Health Services to determine if a COVID test is warranted. Any students determined to be a close contact of a positive case on campus will be contacted by Bard’s Contact Tracing team and the Dean of Students office with detailed instructions.
Faculty and staff experiencing symptoms should follow the same protocol as last year: stay home, contact your physician and/or make an appointment to get tested, and monitor symptoms. Employees experiencing symptoms, or those who have tested positive, should not come to work and should contact Nancy Smith, Employee Covid Coordinator, at [email protected] or 845-752-4931 immediately. Employees may also contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 845-758-7428 with any questions or for additional employee resources.
The Bard Health Service’s COVID testing team is also continuing to conduct weekly randomized testing of students representing 20% of the student body to establish and maintain a baseline for a healthy campus. Students will be notified by email from [email protected] and participation is mandatory. It is essential that every student selected for this testing protocol respond and complete the process. Getting tested typically takes less than 5 minutes, and can be done at any time during the 9-11:30AM and 12:00-2:30PM windows on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Whenever a positive case is identified on campus, the College will conduct expanded testing to determine if there are any additional infections. Please remember, if a positive case occurs on campus and you are NOT contacted by the Bard Contact Tracing Team, you are not a close contact of that positive case. This additional testing is solely a precautionary measure taken out of an abundance of caution. Since we initiated randomized and precautionary testing last year, the process has not identified a single positive case, indicating that our collective careful adherence to COVID protocols have been successful in preventing community spread and keeping our campus cases numbers extremely low.
This year, Bard is continuing to contract with MIT’s Broad Institute to utilize their PCR tests and processing, which have been shown to be highly accurate and typically return results within 24 hours. You will only be contacted if your test result is positive.
Response Team office hours
Every Tuesday from noon to 1PM, the Response Team holds open office hours over Zoom. No appointment is necessary; if you have a question or want to discuss anything, please drop by using the Zoom link and passcode from your Bard email. If that timing does nt work for you, please email us at [email protected] and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
As a community we have worked very hard to create a safe environment for in-person learning and campus life. The most important element of that effort is our success in becoming a fully vaccinated campus. We look forward to working together to solidify this success and continue our return to a more normal campus environment.
Sincerely,
Bard College COVID-19 Response Team
[email protected]
Coleen Murphy Alexander, Vice President for Administration
Kimberly Alexander, Director, Human Resources
Jonathan Becker, Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Barbara Jean Briskey, Director of Health Services
Deirdre d'Albertis, Vice President and Dean of the College
Malia Du Mont, Chief of Staff, President's Office, Vice President for Strategy and Policy
Brooke Jude, Associate Professor of Biology
John Gomez, Assistant Vice President of Operations, Director, Safety and Security
David Lindholm, Interim Athletic Director
Emily McLaughlin, Associate Dean of the College, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Jennifer Murray, Dean of International Studies
Bethany Nohlgren, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students
Kahan Sablo, Dean of Inclusive Excellence
Michael Sadowski, Associate Dean of the College
David Shein, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Studies
Éric Trudel, Professor of French, Faculty Representative
Dumaine Williams, Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Early Colleges
For more information, call 845-758-6822.