Vermont Business Magazine Due to the recent increase in coronavirus infections in Chittenden County and throughout the region, the University of Vermont is making the following adjustments:
· To create additional flexibility that students and families may need, UVM is offering an early departure option for undergraduate students. Students can now leave before the last day of in-person classes, which is on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Students are being urged to get an additional coronavirus test 48 hours prior to their departure, and to wait to receive a negative result before heading home. The university’s testing facility will be open on Saturday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to allow students leaving on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 to get tested within the 48-hour window prior to departing.
· UVM Athletics is delaying the start of competition in men’s and women’s hockey and basketball until Dec. 18.
Just like the State of Vermont and the Northeast region have seen a recent increase in the number of coronavirus infections, so has the university. Of the 10,705 student tests administered last week, a total of 27 tested positive. All have been notified and are in isolation. Contact tracing has also been completed. Those identified as close contacts are in quarantine. In addition, one faculty and seven staff members tested positive last week.
It is worth noting that despite the increase in positive cases, the university’s positivity rate from last week remains low relative to the rate in the state. The 27 student cases translate to a positivity rate of 0.25%, compared to the state’s 1.6%.
“It’s critically important that we keep following all the public health guidance to help prevent the spread of the virus,” said UVM President Suresh Garimella. “And we want to make sure that our students are able to safely head home for the holidays, where they can act as ambassadors of the good practices that were so effective for much of the fall semester.”
Source: UVM 11.16.2020