A message from Dean Douglas Elmendorf
To the HKS Community,
At least nine additional students at HKS have tested positive for COVID following a student-organized retreat over last weekend. Therefore, we are maintaining the restrictions on activities announced Monday:
- Students must submit a COVID test TWICE PER WEEK (or three times per week for those with a medical or religious exemption from vaccination). Staff, faculty, and fellows should test on their normal schedule or more often if they prefer.
- Students must NOT PARTICIPATE UNMASKED in large, indoor group activities.
- Anyone who eats inside at HKS must SIT ALONE in a designated dining area or private office. Although we do not know of any transmission in our dining areas, unmasking to eat raises that risk, and we need to do all we can now to reduce risk.
- Everyone must wear a mask when inside HKS, except if actively drinking or eating.
- Participating in densely packed outdoor events without masks also presents health risks, albeit smaller risks than at indoor events. We strongly encourage you to stay masked for such outdoor events, including at today’s Quorum Call and during this weekend and beyond.
- Everyone should give honest and complete answers to any contact tracers who contact you, so we can stop transmission more quickly.
Everyone who does not feel well should stay off campus. Everyone who attended last weekend’s retreat or has been in close contact with someone who did, and who develops COVID symptoms, should report fully in Crimson Clear, submit a test immediately, and stay away from campus until HUHS says otherwise.
We do not know of any COVID transmission in our buildings; instead, transmission is occurring in social settings where people are not wearing masks. If conditions improve, we will relax restrictions; if conditions worsen, we will need to take further actions to contain risk.
We are all responsible for stopping any further spread.
Doug