Jan. 11, 2022
Dear Chatham Hall Community,
I write today to let you know that at the close of our first round of COVID testing, we have had 11 new cases of COVID emerge on campus among our student body. They, and any students who may have been exposed to them while unmasked, have been quarantined either on campus or at their own homes.
Omicron is indeed as stealthy as reports convey and in response to this, we have made several major decisions for the health and safety of our community:
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Our Winter Long Weekend, Jan. 26-31 will be closed, all students will need to remain on campus. Families will be welcome to visit outside on campus during these dates. We understand that this is a change from our last update, but with the number of cases we have seen from this round of testing we feel confident that this is the best decision for our community and to safeguard our ability to offer in-person learning.
- Our five-day boarders will need to remain on campus for seven days at this time. We will re-evaluate this as soon as we feel we can.
- Day students will need to refrain from going on dorm until further notice.
- There will be no visiting among dorm rooms at this time. Only room residents should currently be in each room. Staying in personal rooms and remaining masked in all other areas will greatly help with reduced transmission. This will continue to be monitored.
- There will be no spectators at sporting events until further notice.
- Students will need to eat only in Yardley, Dutch, or their own dorm rooms.
- Meriwether-Godsey will be providing thin plastic gloves for students to wear when serving themselves at all stations. This will allow both the sandwich and salad bars to open.
- At this time, we plan to keep the campus open for Spring Break for students who are unable to travel home or find a homestay.
Our next round of community testing will take place on Friday, Jan. 14. We will update the community with any changes to these decisions following the return of second round results.
We appreciate your patience in this very fluid situation as we navigate the new realities of the Omicron variant. Again, we realize there are some changes in this letter that impact family schedules, college visits and more. But Omicron is very different from previous variants and we simply must be vigilant if we are to be able to maintain in-person learning. If you have any questions regarding the above decisions, please feel free to contact Director of the Health Care Center Lynne Shelton at [email protected] and/or Dean of Students Marin Miller at [email protected].
Thank you, everyone, for your attention to the health and safety of yourselves and your community. Together we are Turtle Strong!
Best wishes,
