June 4, 2021 – Update on Masking and Distancing
Dear Whitman community,
Summer is in full swing here in Walla Walla and with it the hope that widespread vaccination is bringing the coronavirus pandemic to an end. At Whitman, we are also evaluating what practices remain necessary to keep our community safe. After careful consideration of recent updates to Washington state’s coronavirus guidance, Whitman is making the following change to our campus COVID-19 policy effective immediately:
People with summer-long access badges (those who have provided proof of vaccination and have permission to be on campus for the summer) may be in campus buildings and outdoor spaces without wearing masks or maintaining physical distancing. However, we expect employees and students to wait until they are fully vaccinated (two weeks after their final vaccine dose) to take this step. Any community member who is not fully vaccinated for any reason must continue to wear a mask and maintain physical distancing both indoors and outdoors on campus.
We recognize that members of our community have different risk levels and some fully vaccinated individuals may wish to continue masking and distancing. If masking and physical distancing are the best choice for you, we fully support you in continuing those practices.
In order to ensure that our practices continue to effectively protect our campus community, supervisors (both those supervising employees, including student workers, as well as faculty supervising students' academic work) should check that anyone choosing not to mask and distance has the appropriate full summer access badge. Supervisors should also make a point of showing their own badge to employees and students to reinforce that this is a community commitment.
Campus Vaccination Rates
The COVID vaccine is strongly encouraged for all employees and required for all students unless they have a religious or medical exemption. Based on our employees and the students of the classes of 2022, 2023 and 2024, Whitman currently has 84% of employees who report having been vaccinated against COVID-19 as well as 60% of our students, totaling 67% of our entire campus population.
Any employee accessing campus this summer who has not provided proof of vaccination must take a COVID test every week in order to receive a seven-day campus access badge. Testing takes place from 8:30–10 a.m. every Tuesday at Welty Student Health Center. Supervisors should verify each week that any employee required to take a COVID test completes it and receives the current week’s badge.
To provide documentation of receiving the COVID vaccine, complete the COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting Form.
If you have not yet been vaccinated, use the CDC’s national vaccine locator to find walk-in vaccination opportunities or schedule an appointment at a pharmacy or clinic near you.
Contact Tracing
Due to the limited number of people on campus this summer, we will no longer be using the Everbridge Contact Tracing function or the paper building logs for contact tracing. You may delete the Everbridge Contact Tracing app from your phone, although you may wish to keep the main Everbridge app active, as it is used by both Whitman and many government agencies for emergency alerts.
Athletic Facilities
The Climbing Center and BFFC are now open for recreational use; Sherwood will open for student use next week, and Harvey Pool will soon open for employees and students. Given the nature of indoor athletic activity and the increased risk of coronavirus transmission, we are only opening these facilities to people who have been vaccinated and have summer-long campus access badges. For more details on the available hours, rules of access and reservation systems for the Climbing Center visit their webpage; for information on all other athletic facilities, please visit the Whitman Athletics website or make a reservation through DSERec.
Since the pandemic began last spring, guidance and practices have evolved as we learn more about this virus and as we see the benefits of vaccination in our community. Throughout this summer we will continue to evaluate and update our campus policies in accordance with state guidance, particularly as we expect to receive new information specifically for higher ed. You can find the most up-to-date and comprehensive campus-wide practices in our Overview of Summer Campus COVID Protocols.
Best,
Peter Harvey
Coronavirus Task Force Chair