Spring Semester was scheduled to begin on Monday, Feb. 1—before a snow storm delayed the start for one more day—with more COVID-19 testing available for more members of the Worcester State community. Resident and commuter students began their weekly testing during the week of Jan. 25 and are required show proof of a negative test before attending in-person classes.
In a change from the fall semester, all commuter students who come to campus—whether for class, work, or club activities—will be tested on a weekly basis. Testing center hours have expanded, and the center, located on the first floor of Wasylean Hall, will be open Sunday through Thursday, rather than Monday through Friday. Detailed hours can be found here [1].
All employees who work at least some days on campus will be tested weekly as well.
Everyone who comes to campus is required to record their current health status on the CoVerified app [2]. Check points will be set up on campus for community members to show a green screen on the CoVerified app to show they are cleared to be on campus.
Based on CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidelines, the quarantine period has changed for someone who is considered a “close contact” of a person who has tested positive. Close contacts will be quarantined for 10 days. On the eighth day after exposure, if the person tests negative and has no symptoms, that person will be released from quarantine after day 10.
President Maloney will continue to host a COVID-19 briefing every Friday at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom to update the campus community on testing results and to answer questions. Joining directions are emailed on Thursdays to all employees and students. Campus status and testing results, as well as FAQs from the weekly briefings will be posted on the testing dashboard site: https://www.worcester.edu/COVID19-Testing-Dashboard [3].
For more information, view the fully updated Safe Return to Campus plan for Spring 2021 here: https://www.worcester.edu/Safe-Return/ [4]