Health & Wellness

Pre-Arrival Checklist – Fall 2020

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The following is repost of the message sent by VP Whaley on 8/15/20.

Dear students,

We are looking forward to welcoming you back to campus.  As you know, your arrival to campus this year will be quite different than usual. In addition to packing your bags (which we’d advise keeping light), please remember to complete the following steps:

Pre-Arrival 

  • Self-quarantine during the two weeks leading up to your arrival on campus. (You should already be doing this!)
  • Complete your COVID-19 test within 72 hours of returning to campus, if possible, and upload a negative test result to the CoVerified app (more on that in a moment). If your test comes back positive, if you have symptoms, or if you have a known COVID exposure, please stay home until medically cleared.
  • Read and acknowledge the student Code of Conduct in your WesPortal. (This must be done in order to pick up the key to your campus residence). This document clearly states expectations for student conduct, and non-compliance will result in a student being immediately asked to leave campus in order to protect the health and safety of others.
  • Read and consent to participate in COVID-19 testing on campus via your WesPortal as a condition of returning to campus for the fall semester.
  • Download the CoVerified app. (You will receive an email prompting you to do so). Wesleyan will use this app to manage scheduling of COVID testing appointments on campus, deliver test results, facilitate reporting of symptoms, and enable contact tracing when cases arise.
  • Update your personal contact information and emergency contact information in WesPortal. We need to be sure that the mobile number we have on file is correct.
  • Be sure to pack your thermometer and fever-reducing medications to monitor your temperature or in case you become ill.
  • Bring your Wes ID. If you have lost your ID, email wescard@wesleyan.edu to request a reprint. The WesCard Office will have your replacement ID available with your residence keys upon your arrival.


Arrival on Campus

  • Plan to arrive on campus on your assigned day and time. We are staggering arrival days in order to minimize crowds and allow for appropriate physical distancing. Only students may enter residences during move-in.
  • Visit the COVID-19 testing site (in a tent near Fayerweather) before proceeding to your assigned residence. Every student must be tested the day they arrive on campus and again a few days later.
  • Pick up your keys from ResLife at your assigned key distribution site and move into your residence.


Arrival Quarantine Specifics

  • Wesleyan must observe a state-mandated, campus-wide quarantine between August 24 and September 7. During this period, students may only leave their residences for these purposes:
    • To pick up meals from conveniently-located sites near residences.
    • To visit the COVID testing tent.
    • To retrieve mail/packages at WesStation.
    • To go for a walk/jog (solo or with others in your family unit) outside on campus property.
    • To do laundry on campus.
    • To sit outside your residence for class.
  • Once a student receives two negative on-campus test results, students living in residence halls will be able to interact with others living on their residence hall floor or with similar-sized groups of neighbors, as designated by the Office of Residential Life, for the remainder of the quarantine period.
  • If you are coming from an affected state or from outside of the U.S. and arrive on campus after August 24, you must remain in campus quarantine for a full 14 days.
  • The first week of classes will take place virtually due to the campus-wide quarantine. Faculty members are aware that some students may need to quarantine longer, and are prepared to accommodate them.
  • The drop/add period has been extended to run from August 24 to September 11. Details are available here.

For additional information on preparing for arrival, please visit this webpage. With any additional questions, you may call (888) 675-2011 between noon and 4 p.m. EDT, or email Covid-19Info@wesleyan.edu.

 

Wishing you safe travels!

Dean Mike Whaley, Vice President for Student Affairs

Insurance Deadline Extended to 9/15

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The following is a repost of the email sent to students on August 11th.

 

Dear Wes Student,

This notice is being sent to all students.  If you have already complied with the annual insurance requirements at www.gallagherstudent.com/wesleyan,  you can disregard this message.

The deadline for annual insurance compliance has been extended to September 15.  If you have not yet completed a waiver or enrollment form, please go to www.gallagherstudent.com/wesleyan.  You will need to use your Wesleyan email user and password to log in or create an account.    After this date you will no longer be able to reverse the charges and you will remain on the school insurance.

If you are remote learning, you have the option to terminate the school insurance and receive a reversal of charges and comply when you return to campus in the spring (or next fall).  If you have not yet done so, please alert me by email if you decide to NOT come to campus so adjustments can be made accordingly.

Be Well,

Joyce

Joyce L. Walter

Director, Davison Health Center

Wesleyan University

327 High St.

Middletown, CT  06459

860-685-2656

860-685-2471f

www.wesleyan.edu/healthservices

Important Information for Fall 2020 Semester – Update from Dean Whaley & President Roth

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The following is a letter Dean Whaley and President Roth emailed to students on August 10th.

Dear students,

As our staff makes final preparations for students’ arrival to campus only two weeks from now, we look forward to the start of the semester with a mix of excitement and anxiety. Most of us have longed for the day when we can be together again on campus since we were abruptly forced apart by the pandemic last spring, yet the worsening public health conditions in much of the country are deeply troubling. Thankfully, Connecticut continues to fare well with decreasing COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths—largely thanks to the continued diligence of our state’s residents in following the rules meant to keep the public safe.

Like the state, Wesleyan has its own set of rules and expectations that all students, faculty, and staff will be required to follow. We write today to remind you of these policies and practices, as well as to drive home how serious we will be about enforcing them. As stated in the student Code of Conduct—which all students will be required to read and acknowledge prior to arriving on campus and picking up keys to their residence—students are expected to follow the policies at all times. Non-compliance will result in a student being immediately required to leave campus on an expedited basis in order to protect the health and safety of others.

New public health guidance from the state of Connecticut has also required Wesleyan to change and tighten some of its rules and protocols, especially around the logistics of students’ arrival to campus. These changes were shared in an August 3 message to students. As a reminder:

  • Wesleyan is requiring that all students who are able to get tested for COVID prior to leaving home do so. The state recommends that this test be performed within 72 hours of arriving on campus. Students will be asked to upload a record of a negative test result to an app, which we will introduce soon. Any student whose test comes back positive for COVID should not travel to campus, but should seek medical advice from their healthcare provider, recover at home and, if possible, begin the semester remotely. Wesleyan will require documentation from students’ hometown healthcare provider clearing them to return to campus, which must be consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
  • All students are asked to self-quarantine for two weeks prior to arriving on campus, and especially to avoid large gatherings.
  • In accordance with the state’s guidance, only students—not family members—will be permitted to enter student residences during move-in. Therefore, students should pack lightly, and only bring what they can carry to their rooms by themselves. More information on move-in is available on the Residential section of the Reactivating Campus website.
  • In order to have an effective quarantine on campus as required by the state, Wesleyan will require all students on campus to quarantine between August 24 and September 7. Students who arrive on campus after August 24 from affected states with high COVID activity or from other countries will still need to meet the state’s 14-day quarantine; thus their quarantine may extend beyond September 7. Students coming from Connecticut and other states not on the list of affected states will only need to quarantine from the day they move in to campus until September 7.
  • For this period of quarantine, students will be expected to remain in their residence except to pick up to-go meals and to get a COVID-19 test at the testing site. Students will not be allowed to leave campus at all during these two weeks.
  • Students will be tested two times per week, with the first test taking place upon arrival to campus. Once a student receives two negative test results, students living in residence halls will be permitted to expand the remaining time of their quarantine to interactions with others living on their residence hall floor or to similar sized groups of “neighbors,” as designated by the Office of Residential Life.

Following arrival, students will be tested twice weekly for COVID through a self-administered anterior nasal swab, allowing us to detect COVID in the pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic stage and to isolate any infected students and quarantine and test their close contacts (roommates, housemates, intimate partners, and anyone they have been in contact with for 15 minutes or longer at a distance of less than six feet). We will aim to quarantine for 14 days any close contact who may have been exposed before they are contagious (which typically happens two days prior to symptom onset), thereby greatly reduce the spread of the disease.

Any student who tests positive will be isolated for a CDC-recommended period of 10 days from the onset of symptoms, as long as they are improving and have had no fever for 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

Students are expected to comply with the University’s testing, contact tracing, and quarantine/isolation orders in order to break the chain of contagion, as well to abide by the following measures for the health and safety of the community:

  • Wear a mask or face covering at all times, except when sleeping, in one’s room (alone or with a roommate), eating, showering, or brushing teeth. This means masks/face coverings must be worn when a student leaves their room to go into the hallway or restroom, or when a guest is present in their room.
  • Maintain a six-foot physical distance from others at all times.
  • Avoid groups and gatherings. All meetings and informal gatherings are limited to 25 or fewer people and should take place in venues where physical distancing requirements can be maintained. All such gatherings should take place virtually whenever possible. Most in-person social events and parties are prohibited.
  • Comply with reduced capacity limits in classrooms, dining areas, and other campus spaces.
  • No visitors are allowed on campus during the semester, including students’ parents and other family members, speakers, performers, admission tours, etc.
  • Students are discouraged from traveling outside of the Middletown area (beyond a 25-mile radius from campus), and will be required to self-quarantine upon return to campus as per CDC and state Department of Public Health (DPH) guidelines. Any student who travels beyond the 25-mile radius should notify staff at Davison Health Services who will discuss with them necessary precautions upon their return.  Students are expected to comply with COVID precautions (including physical distancing, face coverings, etc.) as directed by local businesses/agencies when interacting with the local community.
  • The University will also increase the frequency of cleaning in all campus buildings, including residences. However, students are encouraged to carefully and frequently wash hands and to sanitize living spaces. Wesleyan will provide instructions on cleaning protocols intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and expects compliance with these protocols.
  • Students will be required to obtain an influenza vaccination prior to January 20, 2021 (unless they have an exemption as permitted by state law).

As we’ve said before, campus life this semester will undoubtedly look very different, but we are confident that with the cooperation of our campus community, we can all enjoy opportunities to learn, grow, and support one another. That said, if understanding these rules as a condition of living and studying on campus causes you to reconsider your plans for the semester, please contact your class dean as soon as possible to make a request to study remotely.

As always, we will be closely monitoring public health conditions and state guidance. If any change in our plans is warranted, we will alert you immediately.

Stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

 

Sincerely,

Dean Mike Whaley, Vice President for Student Affairs

Michael S. Roth, President

Latest Vlog Post from Dr. Visalli: Returning to College During a Pandemic/ Taking Care of Your Mental Health

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As we get closer to the end of summer, many folks are making the difficult decision whether or not they will return to their University, engage in online courses remotely, or take some time off. I hope to share some tools for navigating your mental health during this difficult time, as well as NORMALIZE ALL THE FEELINGS that are coming up for you. It can feel like a whirlwind- maybe one day you feel confident, the next you feel scared and confused. As we navigate this difficult period, I hope that we can continue to find people to lean on and offer support. Check this video out for some ideas. 🙂

kvisalli@wesleyan.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Postdoctoral Fellow, Counseling and Psychological Services

Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT 06459
P: 860-685-2910; F: 860-685-3961
Wesleyan.edu/caps

Public Health Update – 7/24

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What follows is the most recent public health update from Dr. Tom McLarney, Medical Director of Davison Health Center.

To the Wesleyan Community,

Welcome to the dog days of summer. Did you know this expression actually comes from the rise of Sirius, the dog star, from July 3 to August 11? It has nothing to do with dogs, though my Labrador Retriever remains skeptical. And there’s your piece of trivia for the day!

I write to you amidst a heat wave in Connecticut, as my colleagues and I are working hard in preparation for the start of school, just over a month away. Today, I’d like to share details of Wesleyan’s plans for COVID-19 testing.

For testing on campus, we are partnering with the Broad Institute, a non-profit organization based in Cambridge, MA that has a history of performing premier work with human genetics. They also have an extremely large capacity to run tests, and are partnering with many other colleges and universities in New England. The Broad Institute has promised a turn-around time for tests of 36 hours, greatly superior to the typical turnaround time of four to 10 days for many commercial labs.

The Broad Institute will be using a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, a kinder and gentler anterior nasal swab that students, faculty, and staff will self-administer under the observation of Davison Health Center staff. The sensitivity of this test (detection of true positives) is believed to be greater than 95 percent.

Testing at Wesleyan will begin on or around August 24, when students begin moving in to campus residences. All students will be tested on the day they arrive on campus, and must self-quarantine in their student residences. Students returning from any state with high COVID-19 activity will be required to quarantine for 14 days based on current state of Connecticut requirements. The state of Connecticut will also recognize a negative pre-arrival COVID-19 test (with written proof of test) performed within 72 hours of arrival. We are actively seeking guidance from the state related to our testing protocol and whether that will allow for a shorter quarantine based upon two negative results on campus.

On the subject of pre-arrival, we are asking all students to self-quarantine for 14 days prior to arriving on campus. Yes, I realize this will put a damper on the typical end-of-summer farewell celebrations that are a tradition for many students, but for the safety of our campus community, it is essential that students avoid such gatherings and other opportunities for contagion.

Following arrival, students will be tested twice weekly. Testing will be performed outside in tents, as outdoors has been shown to be a safer environment to deter the spread of COVID-19, and six-foot distancing will be enforced. Wesleyan faculty and staff will also be tested regularly, and details on those plans will be forthcoming. We’ll be releasing more details regarding testing locations and appointments in the near future. Wesleyan is also pursuing an app that will remind people of their test times, give test results, and share national and state information related to COVID, among other things.

With the results of these tests, Wesleyan will be performing contact tracing to contain the spread of any contagion. This means that anyone who receives a positive test will be asked about anyone with whom they had close contact (including roommates/housemates, intimate partners, and anyone with whom they have been in contact—less than 6 feet apart—for 15 minutes or longer) within 48 hours prior to the test being performed (or, if the person tested is showing symptoms, within 48 hours prior to symptom onset). We will reach out to these individuals, without revealing the identity of the person who tested positive, and they will be required to quarantine for 14 days (the maximum incubation time for COVID-19). Because people can infect others two days prior to symptom onset, we aim to put close contacts in quarantine before they become infectious, preventing the spread of COVID.

Wesleyan will cover the cost of all testing. Needless to say, if a student, staff, or faculty member will be doing 100 percent of their work virtually (off-campus), there is no need to come to campus for a COVID test. We are not planning to do antibody testing on campus, as these tests do not tell if someone has an active disease, nor do they necessarily mean that person is immune to reinfection from COVID-19.

Testing and contact tracing will go a long way toward keeping us all safe, but practicing other safe behaviors at all times—including wearing masks/face coverings anytime you are in public (outside your own dorm room or private office), staying more than six feet away from others, and washing hands frequently—are also critical. Please pack a thermometer to help self-monitor for illness.

Stay safe, and I look forward to seeing many of you on campus (a safe distance away!) very soon.

Tom McLarney, MD

Reactivating Campus in Fall – A Message from President Michael Roth

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President Roth sent the following message to the campus community on July 8, 2020. I have posted it on our class blog for your convenience.

Wishing you good health,

Dean Leathers

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Dear friends,

As promised in my June message, I am writing now with more specificity concerning our plans to reactivate campus in late August. Since our first priority is the health and safety of our community members, these plans may have to be adjusted in response to changing public health conditions. Whatever these challenging conditions may be, we intend to provide an excellent educational experience (on campus or remotely).

We have developed a robust set of resources on our website about our campus reactivation, including information on instruction and campus life, health and safety, and returning to work on campus. Here are some highlights:

We will begin fall classes on August 31 (one week earlier than initially scheduled), with the possibility of finishing the semester online after Thanksgiving (there will be no traditional fall break). Students will be asked to avoid large gatherings in the weeks before coming to campus and to take increasing precautions, in addition to wearing masks and social distancing. Students who are able to get tested will be encouraged to determine that they are negative for Covid-19 within 48 hours of traveling to campus. Everyone on campus will be tested shortly after arrival, and there will be frequent testing on a regular basis thereafter. Those on campus who test positive for Covid-19 will be provided with supportive isolation until they are no longer contagious. Students who test positive will be able to continue their coursework remotely.

Faculty have been given the choice as to whether they will teach their classes in person, remotely, or in some combination. It is likely that many students will have a portion of their instruction online, whether they return to campus or not. While some staff members will continue to work remotely, there will be a presence of staff on campus.  Apart from the commuting of employees (who will be tested for the virus), we expect little travel to campus.  There will be no program of intercollegiate sports or club sports, but we do plan to have safe athletic training on campus.

Despite the economic challenges we are all contending with, Wesleyan remains firmly committed to both enrolling a socio-economically diverse student body and meeting the full demonstrated need of our financial aid students. Given new regulations from Washington, Wesleyan is particularly concerned about our international students, and we are committed to doing all we can to ensure that they can continue to make academic progress in Fall 2020.

Please consult the website for detailed information most relevant to your own circumstances, and feel free to reach out to the appropriate department with your questions. We will continually update this site with more information as it becomes available. We will send out another community message in August, or sooner depending on the public health trajectory. Obviously, we are very concerned about the recent surge in cases in the South and West and are monitoring the situation closely. Our plans may have to change.

We believe in the value of an on-campus education, and the basic steps we need to take are clear. The simple act of wearing a mask consistently reduces the likelihood of transmission. Masks combined with rigorous testing, tracing and supportive isolation will make our campus safer. I look forward to a fall semester in which we take good care of one another and continue to excel in learning together.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Roth

President

Wesleyan Alumni Panel: Healthcare Crisis: Facing the Many Aspects of the COVID Pandemic – 6/10

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Good Afternoon Everyone!

I hope all of you and your families are doing well. I am writing to share information about an alumni panel event regarding the current healthcare crisis being hosted via Zoom on Wednesday evening (June 10th). Experienced Wesleyan alumni will discuss the wide-ranging impacts the pandemic has had on healthcare delivery, from hospital systems to Telemedicine, to the effects on private practices and ‘non-essential’ care, the impact on at-risk populations managing psychiatric and/or addictive disorders, and the ethical considerations of resources allocations.

The discussion will be moderated by our very own Chief Medical Director, Thomas McLarney, MD, and is open to all members of the Wesleyan community.

If you’re interested in joining us, register here. Feel free to share this event via email or Facebook with your students and colleagues as you see fit.

Take care,

MILDRED RODRIGUEZ, PhD
HEALTH PROFESSIONS ADVISOR
Wesleyan University | Gordon Career Center
Boger Hall, 41 Wyllys Avenue | Middletown, CT 06459
P. 860 685-2180