Back to COVID-19 Information

COVID-19 Update: Continued Decrease in Active Cases

October 19, 2020

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

As of this morning, we have 18 active cases of COVID-19 among our community, down from 32 on Friday. Of those active cases, nine are students who are in isolation spaces on campus. We are preparing to resume in-person classes, re-open the library, and the Ferris athletic center for scheduled exercise times on Wednesday, October 21.

We also will return to some on-campus activities beginning Wednesday, October 21, with requirements as described below:

  • Employees who have been approved to work on campus may return on Wednesday.
  • Organized groups of limited size will be able to convene if they have in-person faculty/staff supervision. Such gatherings will be limited to 12 students outdoors and six students indoors. Examples include the Chapel Singers, Gospel Choir, Student Government Association meetings, Center for Hartford Engagement and Research sponsored initiatives, and athletic teams. The presence of a college employee who can ensure compliance with all COVID-19 related policies, including face coverings and proper physical distancing, is required. Student groups without faculty/staff in-person supervision may not convene.
  • Students may begin to gather outside informally to socialize and dine, but the groups may not be larger than six people, and face coverings must be worn except when eating.

For this week, the following practices remain in effect:

  • Dining will remain as grab-and-go; no seating is permitted inside dining facilities
  • Students’ residence hall access remains limited to the floor of their own residence; students must wear face coverings and maintain a minimum of 6 feet of physical distance from one another if you are in a room with someone other than your suitemate or apartment mate(s)
  • Students living off-campus may not be in residence halls; students in campus housing may not visit off-campus houses
  • We understand the value of exercise and activity to the physical and mental well-being of our students and we know that the closure of Ferris workout facilities limits opportunity for physical activity, so we remind you that you can access the track at Jessee/Miller Field individuals to engage in passive recreation such as walking or jogging.

We appreciate your continued dedication to the health and safety protocols, especially over the past two weeks, as we have had to put in place greater restrictions. As always, please do adhere to all guidelines and maintain your COVID-19 testing schedule. Given where we are with active cases on campus, we are changing our alert level status to yellow effective immediately. We have updated the COVID-19 dashboard this morning to reflect the current count of active cases.

Sincerely,

Joe DiChristina, Vice President for Student Success and Enrollment Management
Jason Rojas, Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President for External Relations