Dear Colleagues,
We welcome the new year with gratitude to all of you who have contributed so much during the academic year and to those who have continued to keep our campus operating safely through the weeks after the Fall semester ended. We hope that you were all able to find time for yourself and the people important to you over the holiday and new year.
As we continue to adapt to the conditions of the pandemic, we write to update you on requirements and plans for the start of the Spring 2022 semester. Under our signatures, you will find the email that was just sent to students and families; we share this with you in the spirit of transparency and community that has characterized our pandemic response to date.
Vaccination requirements
- Faculty and staff who are eligible for the COVID-19 booster must upload booster documentation as soon as possible as part of the College-wide booster requirement. The initial deadline was January 10.
- If you are not yet eligible for the booster, you will be required to receive the booster as soon as you become eligible.
- Local health authorities may require a quarantine for people who have not received their booster when eligible and have been identified as a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19.
- Staff in the testing center are able to assist you as necessary with uploading documentation if needed.
- As per the College’s vaccine webpage, if you have recently tested positive for COVID-19, you should wait until you are out of isolation and your symptoms have resolved to get a booster. In consultation with the College’s infectious disease experts at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Dr. Marina Catallozzi, Vice President of Health and Wellness & Chief Health Officer, has set the following adjusted requirement for community members who have recently tested positive for COVID-19: unless they received monoclonal antibody or convalescent plasma treatment, they should be boosted as early as 10 days after (if they are back to their baseline health) and within 4 weeks from the positive test date.
- Faculty and staff do not need to upload documentation of their flu vaccine, but we note again that the flu vaccine is required for all faculty and staff. Please refer to the vaccine webpage for further information on the College’s vaccine requirements.
Testing requirements
- All faculty and staff are required to take a PCR test within 24 hours of returning to campus.
- Asymptomatic PCR testing must continue twice weekly for faculty and staff accessing campus, regardless of their interactions with students. This twice-weekly testing requirement is through January, and will be reassessed later in the semester.
- Non-Barnard PCR tests will continue to be accepted for Barnard’s testing requirement and must be uploaded into CoVerified, which will continue to be linked to swipe-access into Barnard’s buildings.
- People who have tested positive continue to be exempt from Barnard’s asymptomatic testing requirements for the 90 days following their positive test.
- If you have had a positive test result from a non-Barnard test, you must upload it in CoVerified if you have not already done so.
- If you are having issues uploading a test into CoVerified, you can email coverified@barnard.edu for assistance.
Masking
- Wear the most protective and best-fitting mask you can find, preferably a N95, KN95, KF94, multi-layered surgical mask, or double mask.
- Masking is a vital component of our layered approach to decreasing the transmission of COVID-19 in our community.
- Cloth masks are not protective against Omicron transmission when worn alone and you should avoid wearing a cloth mask.
- N95, KN95, and KF94 masks are available upon request in the testing center for all community members, and in the Provost Office as well for faculty.
- Until further notice, masking will continue to be required indoors, except when in private spaces when individuals may be unmasked if alone.
Isolation
Like other schools in New York City and around the country, we have adjusted isolation policies and procedures. Our priority is to mitigate further exposures or contact with anyone who tests positive for COVID-19.
- The required isolation period can, depending on circumstances, be shortened from the original 10-day period to the 5-day period as recommended by the CDC.
- Faculty and staff may be granted permission to end their isolation period after 5 full days following their isolation start date, as established by Barnard’s Pandemic Response Team (PRT).
- Isolation can end at 5-days early following a clinical assessment of symptoms. Antigen (rapid) testing may also be utilized to end isolation as directed by the PRT.
Contact Tracing
Barnard’s contact tracing operations have been updated.
- Following contact tracing outreach to community members who test positive for COVID-19, only significant contacts will be notified (i.e., someone who spent more than 15 minutes with someone unmasked).
- Additionally, people at a higher risk for complications of COVID-19 may self-identify via this form to be notified if they have been identified as a close contact. We encourage you to self-identify in this manner if you are concerned about your personal risk factors.
Guests & Gatherings
- No social gatherings or in-person events are permitted through the end of January. We have continued to see that unmasked social gatherings play a major role in transmission. All events, gatherings, and meetings should be held virtually during this time.
- There are no changes to the campus access procedures for visitors outlined on the College’s Accessing Campus webpage. We hope that faculty and staff continue to help in reducing campus density while New York continues to be affected by the Omicron surge.
We appreciate the challenges the pandemic continues to present to the Barnard campus and to our community members personally, and we thank you, in advance, for your adherence to the policies and principles described above. You continue to inspire us with your dedication, adaptability, and resilience as we work together, collectively, to keep our campus community safe.
Warmly,
Linda A. Bell
Provost
Jomysha Delgado Stephen
Executive Vice President of the College, General Counsel and Chief of Staff to the President
Marina Catallozzi, MD, MSCE
Vice President of Health and Wellness, Chief Health Officer
Dear Barnard Students,
We look forward to seeing you back on campus. Prioritizing the health of our community along with in-person living and learning requires that we continually evolve along with the pandemic. As such, we write to update you on Barnard’s health and safety measures so that you know what to do to return to campus and what to expect for the Spring semester.
We invite students and their families to join us for a webinar this Thursday, January 13 from 12:30 to 1:30 PM EST to review our COVID-19 updates and plans for the beginning of the semester. Please register in advance. A recording will be shared afterward to accommodate those unable to join us live. Please submit your questions in advance using this Google Form so that our speakers can be sure to address those topics; there will be an opportunity to ask questions during the event as well.
Before returning to campus:
Inform us of your anticipated return-to-campus date
- Complete the non-binding Return to Campus Plans Form as soon as possible. Having a good sense of students’ intended arrival dates helps us plan for testing volume, isolation support, dining services, and more.
Review the arrival guide
- This arrival guide prepared by the Pandemic Response Team (PRT) includes a checklist for pre-arrival requirements, as well as what residential students should expect when returning to the residence halls.
Testing
- Provide a negative result of a PCR test taken no earlier than 5 days before returning to campus. (Students who tested positive within 90 days of their return to campus and completed isolation will be exempt from the required pre-arrival COVID-19 PCR test.)
- If your pre-arrival test result is positive, you must complete your isolation prior to returning to campus.
- Non-Barnard positive COVID-19 tests taken since December must be uploaded into Coverified if they haven’t been already.
- Refer to the arrival guide for further details around testing, uploading test results, and what to do if you have or have had a positive test result.
Vaccinations
- Upload COVID-19 booster vaccination documentation if eligible for the COVID-19 booster prior to returning to campus as part of the College-wide booster requirement.
- If you are not yet eligible for the booster, you will be required to receive the booster as soon as you become eligible.
- Upload the required flu vaccine by the January 10 deadline.
- Students who received a vaccination at PCHS do not need to upload any further documentation.
- Refer to the vaccine webpage for further information on the College’s vaccine requirements, including instructions for how to upload your vaccines and what to do if you’re having any issues. Questions that aren’t answered by the vaccine webpage can be directed to vaccine@barnard.edu.
Once back on campus:
Classes
- As we wrote on December 22, the first two weeks of classes (at both Barnard and Columbia) will be remote. The reasoning behind this decision is two-fold: (1) to allow for a natural staggering of students back to campus to reduce initial density and testing and isolation space demands and (2) to make it as easy as possible for students who are testing positive during this surge time to access class. After this two-week period, we expect in-person teaching to fully resume.
College-wide Testing Requirements
- Take a PCR test within 24 hours of returning to campus.
- Non-Barnard PCR tests will continue to be accepted for Barnard’s testing requirement and must be uploaded into CoVerified, which continues to be linked to ID swipe-access into Barnard’s buildings.
- Do PCR testing twice a week when accessing campus as part of the College’s response to the current Omicron surge in New York City. This twice-weekly testing requirement is currently set through January.
Masking
- Wear the most protective and best-fitting mask you can find, preferably a N95, KN95, KF94, multi-layered surgical mask, or double mask.
- Masking is a vital component of our layered approach to decreasing the transmission of COVID-19.
- Cloth masks are not protective against Omicron transmission when worn alone.
- N95, KN95, and KF94 masks are available upon request in the testing center for all community members.
- Until further notice, masking will continue to be required indoors, including in all shared residential spaces such as lounges, kitchens, and bathrooms (when possible). Individuals may be unmasked if in a private space alone.
Meals
- Indoor campus dining will be to-go only; no eating will be permitted inside Hewitt Dining Hall, Diana Center Cafe, or Liz’s Place.
- In addition, indoor dining is only allowed in private locations such as individual offices, break rooms, or residential spaces.
- Indoor dining will be reassessed during the month of January.
- Details about dining operations will be updated on the COVID-19 Information website.
Guests & Gatherings
- Only residential students will be permitted to access Barnard’s residence halls starting January 14. Students will not be able to sign in non-residential Barnard students and only CU students who live in Barnard housing will be permitted to access the residence halls.
- No social gatherings or in-person events are permitted through the end of January. We have continued to see that unmasked social gatherings play a major role in transmission. All events, gatherings, and meetings should be held virtually during this time.
Contact Tracing
Barnard’s contact tracing operations have been updated.
- Following contact tracing outreach to community members who test positive for COVID-19, only significant contacts will be notified (i.e. someone who spent more than 15 minutes or shares an apartment or suite with someone who has tested positive).
- Additionally, people at a higher risk for complications of COVID-19 may self-identify via this form to be notified if they have been identified as a close contact. We encourage you to self-identify in this matter if you are concerned about your personal risk factors.
Isolation
Like other schools in New York City and around the country, we have adjusted isolation policies and procedures. Our priority is to mitigate further exposures or contact with anyone who tests positive for COVID-19.
- The required isolation period can be shortened from the full 10-day period.
- Students (residential and non-residential) may be granted permission to end their isolation period after 5 full days following their isolation start date, which is established by Barnard’s Primary Care Health Service (PCHS).
- Isolation can end early only following a clinical assessment of symptoms. Antigen (rapid) testing may also be utilized to end isolation as directed by PCHS.
- Residential students who are able to isolate and recover at home or elsewhere off campus are asked to do so.
- The College can provide private car service at no cost, gift cards for food for students on a meal plan, and other support so that residential students can isolate off-campus safely.
- Due to the limited amount of dedicated isolation housing at the College and anticipated positivity rates, students should be prepared to recover in their housing assignments if they test positive and they are unable to do so off-campus.
- Barnard will continue to provide meal and delivery support to these students, minimizing any further exposure to the campus community
- The PRT will share recommendations with students to minimize further risk of transmission should in-place isolation be necessary.
- PRT and PCHS will determine if any students will move to temporary housing assignment based on the likelihood of transmission, underlying conditions and risk of infection.
Our holistic approach to Spring 2022 planning includes monitoring campus data and regional data summarized on our campus dashboard, as well as consultation with our infectious disease advisors at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
We recognize that this semester is starting out with more restrictions in place. Our goal is to ride the Omicron surge in the best possible way so that we can enjoy a fuller in-person living and learning experience on campus for a majority of the Spring semester. We will continue to make decisions that best serve our community in the current landscape and to communicate these changes clearly. By being proactive and adapting now, we are confident that the systems, responses and communications that are in place will help us move toward a vibrant and fulfilling Spring semester.
Sincerely,
Leslie Grinage
Dean of the College
Marina Catallozzi, MD, MSCE
Vice President of Health and Wellness, Chief Health Officer