May 10, 2021 – End of Semester COVID Activity

Dear Whitman Students,

By now you are used to hearing from me each Friday with a summary of the COVID activity of the week and how it will affect campus operations moving forward. It is only Monday, but the COVID activity and student behavior we have seen in the past few days are so alarming that I felt it was important to communicate immediately.

We have identified three new COVID-19 cases in students in the past two days and are now putting an entire residence hall section in quarantine. Most concerning is that some of the positive cases have been linked to a student gathering. Given that we know there are COVID cases on campus, please monitor your health and if you think you may have any symptoms, call the Welty Health Center immediately at 509-527-5281. However, it is also important to note that one of the students who tested positive was asymptomatic. That case was detected through campus surveillance testing. It’s a reminder that just because your contacts are not symptomatic does not mean that they do not have COVID.

Now that classes are over, reading days are beginning and will be followed by finals, and it is more important than ever that you make good choices in your last days of the academic year. We do not want to have to further restrict students at this point in the semester and most of all, we do not want to put any of our seniors in danger of missing their commencement. Please do everything you can to follow the protocols that should be well-known to you by now:

• Keep gatherings to groups of 15 people or less outdoors and five or less indoors with masks and 6 ft. of distance.

• Wear your masks in all public indoor and outdoor spaces unless alone in a residence hall room or office space.

• Maintain at least 6 ft. of distance between yourself and others, even in outdoor spaces.

• Keep residence hall visitors to one per room, and out of public spaces. Visitors from off-campus are not allowed.

We have worked so hard this year to keep each other and the broader community healthy and we are in the home stretch. Be vigilant so we can safely celebrate the summer and our return to in-person learning in the fall.

Best,
Peter Harvey
Coronavirus Task Force Chair