Weekly COVID-19 Update: October 29

Team,

In my interactions with the members of our campus community, I often hear personal stories of resilience. From our faculty, I have heard stories about our students adapting to the pandemic’s uncertainty and, despite many challenges, succeeding in their pursuit of education. I often hear about the life-changing opportunities that are presented to our students, thanks to all of you. And because of their resilience, and yours, we are making the world a better place.

I appreciate your continued support of our students and mission during these difficult times.

And, like I said last week, please take care of yourself. If you feel exhausted, afraid, sad, angry, frustrated, or overwhelmed, know that you are not alone. I see and hear on a daily basis the toll this pandemic is having across our campuses, at all levels of the University, and with our students.

SITUATIONAL UPDATE

Our overall confirmed cases are holding steady in comparison to last week. This is also the fourth week in a row that we have seen the situation improving on our campuses.

Idaho State will remain at Level White on all campuses. We believe that the operational modifications implemented earlier this month are working, so they will remain in place at least one more week.

Face coverings continue to be required indoors and at outdoor events when physical distancing is not possible.

In-person instruction should be maintained as much as possible. Faculty should continue to offer online, hy-flex, or supportive options for students who are ill or in quarantine.

Our on-campus COVID-19 Screening Program continues to randomly test faculty, staff, and students with an on-campus presence.

We saw another modest increase in the number of students who took advantage of our vaccination incentive program this past week. This incentive program will continue through the end of the semester.

For eligible individuals, booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine are widely available. All higher education employees are eligible for boosters.

The University will hold an in-person winter commencement ceremony on Saturday, December 18, in Holt Arena. Similar to the University’s spring ceremony, public health and safety measures will be in place to mitigate risk for all graduates and audience members.

Thank you for following our public health guidelines.

––Kevin

Kevin Satterlee

President

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