September 15, 2020

Dear students, faculty and staff,

Thank you for everything you have done and are doing to keep the music playing this fall! Some of you may know that one of CIM’s faculty members was recently diagnosed as positive for COVID-19. We quickly deployed our response plan to protect the rest of the CIM community, and wanted to share those steps with you.

Once CIM is notified of a positive or suspected case in our community:

  • CIM communicates with CWRU University Health and Counseling Service (UH&CS).
  • UH&CS, with assistance from CIM, completes all necessary contact tracing for the COVID positive individual.
  • UH&CS communicates with the public health department if required.
  • Any individual who has had direct contact with the person with the confirmed or suspected diagnosis is notified and required to self-quarantine until the potential exposure is evaluated.
  • “Direct contact” is defined as close contact with a person with a confirmed or suspected positive COVID-19 diagnosis (less than six feet) for 15 minutes or longer.
  • CIM does not make a determination about who was potentially exposed in any situation; UH&CS and the public health department evaluate the information and determine the exposure.
  • Based on that information, individuals may be released from quarantine, required to continue quarantine or be tested for the virus. Anyone awaiting test results must quarantine until cleared.
  • Card access to CIM facilities is turned off for any individual required to quarantine.
  • By CDC and Public Health guidelines, only individuals who have confirmed exposure are required to quarantine. Exposure to someone who may have been exposed does not require notification and quarantine.
  • CIM (in coordination with UH&CS) has quarantine and isolation spaces for resident students.
  • Individuals living off campus are required to quarantine/isolate in their own residences.
  • Determination of release from quarantine/isolation is made by UH&CS.
  • Individuals cleared to return to full activities have access to the facilities restored.

With respect to this most recent situation, the public health department determined that the masking and distancing safety protocols in place were carefully followed, which
minimized the risks to the campus community. Out of an abundance of caution, UH&CS has tested the students who participated in a class with this faculty member. All seven of these students were negative for COVID-19 and have been fully cleared.

Please be assured that CIM will communicate with any person whom it is determined may be at risk. If you have not been contacted by CIM, UH&CS or the health department, you are not considered to be at risk.

Thank you all again for adhering to the policies CIM has put in place to safeguard against possible transmission of COVID-19. Thanks to this rigor and discipline, everyone is able to continue with their work and studies.

If you have additional questions about the process, please be in touch. This information has also been added to CIM’s website, in the Return to Campus section.

David Gilson, Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Maddi Tolliver, Senior Director, Artistic and Facilities Operations