Dear Kenyon staff, students and families,
As shown on the COVID-19 Dashboard, COVID remains with us on campus, but the appearance of new cases has begun to slow. Similarly, after spiking two weeks ago, cases are also declining in Knox County and across the state of Ohio. Rapid tests have allowed us to move positive students into isolation quickly, and students have picked up more than 450 test kits (900 individual tests) since they became available two weeks ago. Most importantly, vaccination is clearly providing protection, and severe illness has remained very rare among both students and employees. More than 80% of students have submitted documentation that they are fully up-to-date with their vaccination, including boosters, and those numbers will undoubtedly continue to rise as students who have not submitted documentation are referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Students who still need to submit their documentation may do so via the Pyramed student portal, and employees should submit any update to their vaccination status to the Office of Human Resources.
Based on these data, Kenyon will shift to Campus Activity Level 1 (baseline precautions), effective at 4 p.m. today, Wednesday, Feb. 9. Please note that under Level 1, well-fitted masks are still required in classrooms and other public spaces when around others, except when actively eating and drinking or exercising. Compliance with masking requirements has been good, with a few exceptions, and it is important to maintain that commitment so that everyone has equitable and safe access to shared public spaces on campus, including the Chalmers Library and other spaces with use by both students and employees. Under Activity Level 1, employees may also dine in Peirce, and meetings and events may include food and drink.
Our partners at Knox Public Health recently announced that they will no longer be performing individual case investigations, choosing instead to focus on more effective interventions to protect the most vulnerable members of the Knox County community. Many other locales and institutions of higher education, including Harvard, have made similar decisions. Given our high vaccination rate, Kenyon is following suit. Like KPH, we’ve found that, especially in light of the transmissibility of Omicron, contact tracing is a tremendous effort that does little to limit the spread of the virus. This shift will also allow Health Services staff to serve students more effectively across a much wider range of health issues.
Our transition from life under COVID to living with COVID has been a gradual and saltatory process, with many small steps forward, backward, and sideways in response to changing circumstances, data, and feedback. As always, we appreciate the resilience, patience, and commitment of the Kenyon community in helping us make sure at least most of the steps are in the right direction. On behalf of the COVID Steering Committee,
Sincerely,
Drew Kerkhoff
Associate Provost and Professor of Biology
Chair of the COVID-19 Steering Committee