By Victoria Durgin, Editor in Chief
Editor’s note: this is a summary of recent changes made to the Plan. We will continue to provide coverage of these updates, with input from Susquehanna officials and community members, over the coming weeks.
Susquehanna updated the guidelines for students, faculty and staff concerning COVID-19 in a revision of “the Plan” that has existed since the Fall 2020 semester. Among the changes are a booster vaccine requirement and warnings to students about isolation and masking.
First, students are “strongly encouraged” to self-quarantine for 5-7 days before their return to campus.
All students are required to take the booster dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna by Feb. 4 or otherwise as soon as they are eligible. Eligibility under CDC and FDA guidance is five months after the second dose of Pfizer, six months after the second dose of Moderna and two months after the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
Students must send a copy of their vaccination card to covidtesting@susqu.edu as soon as possible.
Faculty and staff are still not required to be vaccinated in any capacity but are “strongly encouraged” to be fully vaccinated with a booster before the semester begins.
Students who are unvaccinated do not need to reapply for exemption from the booster mandate and will continue to follow protocols including social distancing, masking and weekly testing on campus. Unvaccinated faculty and staff will follow the same protocols.
Additional testing protocols will also be in place for vaccinated students and those at “higher-risk” due to activities, though details on who that is and how frequent that testing is were not stated in the Plan. Those students will be emailed with further instruction on testing and testing “must be done to be compliant and remain on campus.”
The Plan also states students “must” determine their own individual plans for where they will quarantine if they test positive for COVID-19. The university will not provide space on campus “due to the highly transmissible nature of the Omicron variant.” The language of the Plan recommends students return to their homes to quarantine or find a location elsewhere off-campus.
The quarantine period will last for 10 days, unless a student can acquire a “professionally administered” COVID-19 test with a negative result after day 5 of the quarantine period and be symptom free for at least 24 hours. This means an at-home test result will not be acceptable to return from quarantine early.
Students will also be screened by the Student Health Center for final approval before release to campus.
Vaccinated individuals deemed close contacts of positive COVID-19 patients can remain on campus but are required to wear KN95 masks and submit to two rounds of testing. Unvaccinated individuals under close-contact procedures will need to isolate off-campus for a “probable” five days and submit to two rounds of testing.
Unvaccinated individuals will be subject to a screening by the Student Health Center before fully approved to return to campus.
Employees will be subject to similar requirements.
Speaking of tests, all students need to present a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of the first day of classes or their first day on campus for activities. The Plan states these tests can be antigen or PCR and students should upload results to a form linked within the Plan. At-home tests are acceptable.
Students can call the Student Health Center for assistance if they cannot acquire a test on their own.
Susquehanna also updated suggestions for the type of mask worn by students as mask mandates remain in place for all academic buildings. Those on campus are now encouraged to wear KN95 and disposable surgical-style masks instead of single-layer cloth masks.
The Plan states surgical-style masks will be available at stations across campus as they have been in previous semesters.
The Plan includes detailed protocols for unvaccinated individuals as well as additional recommendations on sanitary measures and mental health resources. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to read the entirety of the Plan and check their emails for updates as they may become available.
This article is a summary of updates but is not a full listing of every piece of guidance and advice found in the language of the Plan.