COVID-19 Response Update

TO: The Gustavus Community
FROM: Barb Larson Taylor, chair, COVID-19 Response Leadership Team
SUBJECT: COVID-19 Response Update
DATE: June 17, 2020

This week, the College’s 12 COVID-19 Response Action Teams submitted preliminary recommendations and executive summaries that are being reviewed by the other Action Teams, the COVID-19 Response Leadership Team, and the President’s Cabinet.

Recommendations will be refined and finalized by late June with the detailed reopening plan available to all students and employees in early July. Plans will be modified moving forward based on updated public health recommendations. As our community looks to the fall, the COVID-19 Leadership Team and President’s Cabinet remain confident that we will be able to offer on-campus living and learning unless there is a strong resurgence of cases.

The health and wellbeing of our campus community and the Saint Peter area will rely on each of us doing our part to practice new community norms for safety. These include:

• Maintaining a distance of at least six feet from others in all public indoor and outdoor spaces;
• Wearing a mask or facial covering any time you are within six feet of another person, indoors or outdoors, except for residence hall rooms;
• Completing a daily self-screening for COVID-19 symptoms. This will be on the honor system; you do not need to report your self-screening to anyone unless you experience symptoms;
• Practicing regular and thorough handwashing.

These adaptations are the “big picture” practices from the Minnesota Department of Health that have guided the work of the Action Teams and will help us keep each other safe. As you can imagine, there will be no aspect of campus life that will not be impacted as we live into our new community norms. Each member of our community plays an important part in keeping the whole community healthy. Please begin thinking about how these safety measures can be incorporated into your daily campus life. We believe that the importance of our community being together on campus will propel us through the challenges we may experience in adjusting to our new normal.

If you have any questions or thoughts on the College’s ongoing COVID-19 planning for the fall, please email g-covidresponse@gustavus.edu.