Click here for all COVID-19, Coronavirus updates.
As mentioned to you earlier, updates will be shared each Thursday from the Health and Safety Task Force at Guilford as a way of ensuring regular and trusted communication on important topics related to the operations of the college related to COVID-19. In this update, you can expect:
- Important upcoming testing information for all students, faculty and staff
- Additional information on our recent uptick in positivity rates
- Regular and relevant data to understand the health of our community
- Information on the next testing and vaccination opportunities on and off campus
- Information on important phasing and planning related to activities across campus
- Answers to frequently asked questions
Important upcoming testing information
Due to the increase in positivity rates in our testing clinic from Tuesday, we will be holding testing clinics in the Carnegie Room of Hege Library for the next three days:
- Friday, October 1 - for all fall and spring student athletes, designated groups, and anyone who wants to be tested
- Monday, October 4 - for all community members
- Tuesday, October 5 - for all community members
All community members, regardless of vaccination status, must be tested on Monday, October 4 or Tuesday, October 5. The clinics will be available from 9:00-noon and 1:00-5:00pm. Please pre-register with Starmed (our test administrators) prior to coming for your test by going to https://starmed.care/testing/ You will need your insurance card and a photo ID to complete the registration.
Additional information about our recent uptick in positivity rates
We know everyone is concerned about the health and well being of those who recently tested positive for COVID-19. We are happy to report that no one has been hospitalized and affected individuals are isolating and their conditions are being monitored. Of the 26 individuals who tested positive, 16 individuals were vaccinated, nine were unvaccinated and one person was in the process of completing their vaccination. We will continue to update the community as needed.
Next steps on vaccine mandate
As we move forward together as a community toward the deadline of October 15 for our vaccination mandate to take full effect, we continue to share important information for our community. Anyone who has not already provided this information has received multiple communications concerning ways to apply for an exemption, based on medical or religious grounds.
If you wish to apply for a medical or religious exemption, the deadline for submitting applications is this Friday (October 1). If you would like to know more about this process, please reach out to:
Students: Susan Smith, Coordinator of Student Health (ssmith@guilford.edu), about medical exemptions, or Wess Daniels, Director of the Friends Center and Quaker Studies (danielscw@guilford.edu) for religious exemption applications.
Faculty/staff: Janet Gould (jgould@guilford.edu) or Erickia Elbert (eelbert@guilford.edu) in Human Resources about medical exemption applications, or Wess Daniels, Director of the Friends Center and Quaker Studies (danielscw@guilford.edu) for religious exemption applications.
We appreciate all the efforts to continue to upload vaccination documentation as our community moves forward toward a safer, healthier campus. The links below should provide you a way to provide this information if you haven’t already done so.
STUDENTS
FACULTY AND STAFF
Thank you to everyone for responding so rapidly and with such great care in the last few days. We appreciate your flexibility and your resilience as we continue to move forward together.
Sincerely,
Health and Safety Task Force:
Kim Berry and Steve Mencarini, co-chairs
Savannah Henry
Suzanne Bartels
Kim-Anne Kleimeier
Reacie Daniel
Wilmisha May
Erickia Elbert
Ryann Fowler
Janet Gould
Michele Malotky
Susan Smith
Jermaine Thomas