Virus Update: One New Case, Number of Students Moved to Remote Study Doubles
(Photo Allyson Frantz/The Gettysburgian)
By Anna Cincotta, Editor-in-Chief
On the afternoon of Feb. 26, Dean of Students Jeff Foster and Assistant Vice President of College Life Darrien Davenport shared a current update about the state of COVID-19 at Gettysburg. There is currently one new confirmed positive case on campus this week, and the number of students reassigned to the remote cohort due to violations of health and safety protocols has gone from 3 to 6 over the course of the past week.
“While the large majority of students have been following rubric and safety protocols, there have been a few gatherings among students recently where more than the posted number of students were in one space and they were not wearing masks,” Foster and Davenport said. “As stated in the rubric, the host of the gathering will be moved to remote study and those attending the gathering will be placed on short-term remote study.”
According to the college, students tested on Wednesday, Feb. 24 may not receive their results until Sunday or Monday morning due to a FedEx shipping backlog. Associate Dean of College Life Jim Duffy provided students with this update via email. “Mobile Health recently notified the college that the Wednesday (2/24) test specimens have yet to be transported to the lab for processing,” he explained.
Students on campus are required to be tested for the virus twice every week, on Tuesday and Saturday or Wednesday and Saturday. The Tuesday cohort has received their results, and the dashboard has been updated accordingly.
Foster and Davenport also shared a video message from President Bob Iuliano in their email to the campus community. “I want to thank each and every one of you, but I also want to reinforce the need for continued vigilance,” he said. “We know how quickly things can change if we let our guard down.”
At this moment in time, the alert level at Gettysburg College is still characterized as moderate.
