General

To our Wesleyan community,

We are now into October with very reassuring low rates of COVID-19 positivity on campus. As I write, we currently have 0 active cases amongst students and employees. To date, we’ve had only 8 positive cases total identified through Wesleyan’s testing during the course of the fall semester (two positive student cases reported earlier on our COVID-19 dashboard were later determined to be false positives).

As we celebrate this success, we must also plan ahead as the weather gets colder. Last year, our campus experienced high flu activity. Influenza and COVID-19 can present with very similar symptoms, and could easily overwhelm our campus and the local health system if we’re not careful. Thus, this year, Wesleyan is requiring that all students get flu shots by January 20, 2021 (unless exercising a religious or medical exemption permitted by State of Connecticut law).

To our Wesleyan community,

Greetings. As we all settle into the routine of the fall semester, however unusual it may be, I would like to address a topic that affects us all: stress. Faculty, staff, and students alike, whether studying or working on-campus or remotely, are feeling the mental fatigue that accompanies this ongoing pandemic. Whether it is concern about our own health, the health of friends and family, or just coping with all the changes and inconveniences to daily life, we are all feeling it.

Date: September 4, 2020 Subject: Public Health Update From: Tom McLarney, MD To Our Wesleyan Community: Happy Friday and congratulations on nearly making it to the end of the campus-wide quarantine! Despite this unusual and challenging start to the semester, I have noticed students appearing upbeat and happy to be back on campus. I have … Read more

To the Wesleyan community:

We have finished our first week of testing, and as classes begin and we’ve completed a few thousand tests, we can report that two students have tested positive for COVID-19. Two employees have also tested positive. Though unfortunate, this is an occurrence we were well prepared for. The employees are taking the appropriate precautions, and the students, in the care of Health Services, are resting comfortably in supportive isolation.We have also initiated contact tracing, and close contacts have been notified for appropriate quarantine.

To Our Wesleyan Community,

The fall semester has arrived. It is wonderful to see students, faculty, and staff on campus. Health Services has been busy at the testing tent on Andrus Field this week assisting as members of the campus community take their COVID-19 tests. So far everything is going smoothly, and we thank everyone for their cooperation and patience as we all get accustomed to this process.

To date, we have received results for 1,875 tests, with only one positive test result for an employee, who was immediately isolated. To remain informed about our testing results and procedures, visit Wesleyan’s COVID-19 Dashboard, which will be updated regularly. On the dashboard, you will find an alert level for the University, which provides context for the situation on campus, as well as a tally of active cases, cumulative results to date, and test results by week for all students and employees who are tested on campus.

We are also aware of several students who received positive COVID test results when they took a test prior to leaving home. These students have delayed their arrival to campus until they are medically cleared, and Health Services will remain in touch with these students to track their recovery.