December 12, 2021 – Important Campus COVID Update

Dear Whitman community,

I wanted to follow up on the email I sent Friday regarding a string of COVID cases linked to  a large, unmasked student gathering in a residence hall room. Three additional students linked to that event tested themselves on Saturday and received positive results. We now have 8 students who are currently in isolation with COVID-19, some of whom must now change their travel plans to stay on campus until their isolation is complete. 

Today, we tested more than 50 students who were identified as close contacts to the positive cases. All of those tests came back negative. It is important to point out that there has been no transmission between students who were masked and distanced. If you live in a residence hall that has seen positive cases the most important thing you can do is continue to be diligent about masking and distancing per CDC guidelines.

This weekend we were also made aware of at least one party taking place off-campus on Friday. The college addressed the issue with the organizers of the event, reached out to other groups on Saturday to further discourage social gatherings, and increased security patrols off-campus to ensure that students were adhering to COVID-19 protocols. 

We have made it to finals week with relative success and we have done so by adhering to our campus COVID-19 protocols.  I understand that it’s the end of the semester and we are all tired. However, now is not the time to let down our guard. The spread we have seen this week shows the consequences of just a small number of students taking unnecessary risks. 

I wish you the best during this week of finals. Please continue to mask up and keep your distance so that we can end the semester without further spread and so students can travel to be with their loved ones over the holidays. 

Be safe,
Peter Harvey
Chair, Coronavirus Task Force