Fall 2020 Update #15: First COVID Test Positive


Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

I am writing today to provide you with an important update regarding our COVID-19 test results. To date, the College has received results for more than 1700 tests. Today we received the first positive test result for a student. The student has been moved to our designated isolation housing and will remain under the care of our Student Health Services team for the duration of their quarantine. At this time, the student is asymptomatic.

Our team worked throughout the summer to define our protocols to respond to a positive case. Upon receipt of test results, the Student Health Center activated their process to care for the student and manage the health of our community. 

The College is working closely with the Vermont Department of Health to support their contact tracing efforts. Anyone determined to have been in close contact with the student will be contacted. Due to federal privacy laws, Champlain will not share the name or identifying details of any student, faculty or staff member who tests positive for the virus. 

Champlain’s top priority is the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and the Burlington community. As a reminder, all Champlain College students participating in campus life were tested within 48 hours of arrival to campus and again seven days later. Weekly testing will continue through the semester. Any student who tests positive is moved to one of our “quarantine and isolation halls” specifically set aside for students who test positive for the virus, show symptoms of the disease or have a known exposure to someone with COVID-19. Students living in a quarantine hall will have all their meals delivered to them and must remain in the hall until Student Health and the Vermont Department of Health release the student from quarantine. 

We will continue to respond to challenges presented by COVID-19 with transparency and timeliness and remain committed to sharing relevant data for the health of the community. We update our testing dashboard on a daily basis and while we will not send updates in the event of additional positive tests, should there be any cause for a change to our campus operations we would update you via email. All community updates and FAQs can be found on our COVID-19 website.

I appreciate that this message may cause concern among our community. Due to the thoughtful planning of our Student Health, Housing and Residential Life and Dining Services teams, I feel confident this case does not present  a widespread risk to our community. However, I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone—students, faculty and staff alike—to remain vigilant and continue to practice social distancing, good hand hygiene and to wear a mask. Your commitment to these practices are the best measures we can take to keep our College open. #LetUsCare

Sincerely,


Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande
President, Champlain College