Dear ESF Community,
As we move closer to the official start of the Fall 2020 semester, plans are falling into place, but remain fluid. Please allow me to share some of the most recent decisions and opportunities.
College Commitment
Very soon, you will have the chance to join other forward-thinkers on this campus and sign the College Commitment. In so doing, you are proclaiming your willingness to hold yourself and those around you accountable for the health and safety of our community. We will succeed when we are #allinthistogether. Please watch your email for a message and join us in signing the College Commitment.
Quarantining and Agreement with Onondaga Community College
We are pleased to share that we have finalized an agreement with Onondaga Community College to temporarily house non-New York State students who live in quarantine-restricted (“hot spot”) states and ultimately plan to reside in Centennial Hall. Per Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order, all students from travel advisory states must adhere to the required 14-day quarantine, which includes completion of the online health form that can be found here: https://forms.ny.gov/s3/Welcome-to-New-York-State-Traveler-Health-Form. This health form must be completed online, and the traveler must take a screen shot of the last page and submit a copy to the campus. Residential students will be required to provide a screenshot copy of the Traveler Health Form to OCC building management before moving into Shapero Hall. Off-campus students affected by the travel restrictions must complete the online health form, submit a screen shot to the College, and provide the College with the address of their quarantine location and a contact at that location.
Because ESF only has one residence hall, the College does not have a separate building where we can isolate or quarantine students. OCC is allowing us to share one of its residence halls that has been designated as a quarantine facility for OCC students. ESF residential students who are arriving from quarantine-restricted states will be expected to report to OCC for two weeks of quarantine before moving into Centennial Hall. We expect most students will arrive at OCC between today and August 9.
Students from states that require a 14-day quarantine, who are joining our community as off-campus students, can quarantine at any location in the state of New York. The parameters to do this are outlined on the State’s travel advisory site that can be accessed at https://www.esf.edu/restart/. We expect, however, that most of our off-campus students who need to quarantine will do so in their off-campus residence. If that is not feasible, because of the nature of their off-campus residence, the College may be able to accommodate non-residential students at OCC on a case-by-case basis. Students in this situation should contact the Division of Student Affairs at 315-470-6660.
Testing
All Centennial Hall students and staff will participate in COVID-19 surveillance testing by submitting a saliva sample as they enter Centennial Hall that will be tested as part of a “pool.” Students will remain quarantined in their rooms until the results of the pooled test are returned. We expect that we will receive these results in 48 to 72 hours. Students in pooled tests that return a negative response will be issued a color-coded bracelet indicating they received a negative result and their quarantine will be lifted. Students in a pool that returns a positive result will take a diagnostic test, performed by professionals at Crouse Medical Center. This follow up testing will allow us to identify the infected individuals within the pool and safely move them to isolation. For roommates arriving more than 48 hours after the arrival of the first roommate, our current plan is to have available an antigen test that would be administered upon their arrival and provide a very quick result.
The College will offer testing on a voluntary and random basis for off-campus students and faculty and staff early in this semester to obtain a snapshot baseline of COVID-19 prevalence. These results will be compared with data collected at Syracuse University, and testing will occur throughout the semester to monitor prevalence.
Contact Tracing
ESF will utilize community members to assist with contact tracing efforts made by the Onondaga County Department of Health. These members will coordinate with similar efforts at Syracuse University. There are significant efforts in Onondaga County to utilize wastewater to identify and predict COVID-19 emergence. SUNY-ESF, with assistance from our partner institutions, will use these surveillance efforts to monitor and help inform on disease prevalence trends in our community.
ESF is absolutely committed to the health and safety of every one of our students, faculty, staff, and the members of the Syracuse community. This has been a challenging summer for everyone, with the need to make decisions despite a significant number of unknowns. We appreciate the effort and commitment from everyone at the College and the tremendous patience and support from our students, parents, families, and guardians. We have more work to do – and more decisions to make – but we are confident that the Fall 2020 semester will be meaningful, impactful, and transformative.
Sincerely,
Joseph L. Rufo
Officer-in-Charge
Chief Financial Officer and
Vice President of Administration
