COVID-19 Update: Monday, July 20

Colleges and Universities edition.

NOTE: most of today’s post is general recommendations for colleges and universities with a focus on faculty and staff. These are general recommendations that will need to be tailored to your individual situation or campus situation (I could not possible put everything in a post) but hopefully what is here will help get you thinking about ways you can reduce your personal risk.

1. 6.7% of all deaths in the US were attributed to COVID during the week of July 6th – 11th. This is from formal death certificate data which is on a lag so this number will change. Hospitalizations are on the rise.

2. The CDC has released guidance for colleges and universities as they prepare to resume face to face classes (F2F). Below is a link to that guidance, at the same link you can find a list on the left side for other organizations such as churches, K-12 schools, and an assortment of other businesses. But today I want to focus on colleges and universities. As we get started, I want to remind you of a couple of things: a) the situation is about risk mitigation. Understanding what our risk is then working to reduce that risk. It is not about fear or living in fear but about having the information you need to make the best decisions for you and your family. Each of us will have a different risk level and a different risk tolerance. You must assess the risk, review the ways to reduce risk, and then make the decisions that are right for you and your family. B) when schools resume there will be an increase in cases and there will be a loss of life. The question is not “if” that will happen but how many and how well we will be able to manage it.

Colleges and universities are at higher risk for disease than K-12 schools for multiple reasons among which are: a) people come there from all over the world, not just local, b) they do not have the same protective mechanisms that K-12 students have physiologically, c) they are together more and inter-mix more than K-12 students and d) class sizes tend to be larger and longer in duration.

Colleges and universities also have considerably more control and flexibility over how they operate and manage the issue and like K-12 schools the situation by institution will vary considerably. For example, small institutions or small classes will have less risk than large ones. Think of it this way, if 1 out of every 10 people has COVID (this is not true, just an example) and you put 10 people in the room, while you may not know who the one person is, you can space out pretty well and attempt to avoid the other people. For each person you add to that room your risk goes up and your ability to avoid the people goes down. In a large auditorium size class with 100+ people, at least 10 would have COVID (still just a random number for example purposes) and they would be scattered about the room. Avoiding them becomes much more difficult. The more times you put yourself in that situation, the higher your chances of getting COVID. College campuses are notorious for infectious diseases, they are not notorious for social distancing.

High-risk times/locations for colleges and universities include Tuesday/Thursday classes, large classes, classes where spacing isn’t possible, social events such as frat parties and mixers, dining halls, student unions, chapel (for religious schools), labs that don’t have specialized ventilation, sporting events (particularly indoor events), theater performances, dorms, libraries, the gym – etc. Basically, places where there are large numbers of people and limited space.

So what can you do? As an administrator there is a lot that you can do – including mitigating each of these venues, and working with a public health professional or epidemiologist to develop the best possible risk mitigation plan. While including people from your institution in the planning is an absolute requirement, bringing in someone who specializes in this is essential. There are apps and software to help administrators track, monitor and reduce risk. Invest in a tracking mechanism, appoint someone on your campus to be the POC for all things COVID, preferably someone who has public health, epidemiology, infectious disease, emergency management etc. credentials. I recommend asking all students, staff, and faculty to quarantine for 2 weeks prior to coming on campus.

A strong plan for risk mitigation and hazard response is crucial. Communicate the plan and enforce it but also be flexible. A good plan will have contingencies and will recognize that one size does not fit all. Faculty, staff and students need options that will best accommodate their risk levels, provide those options. Hold faculty meetings via Zoom (or some other similar system), require masks when F2F meetings are necessary. Keep meetings short and hold them in rooms where spacing is possible. If what you need to communicate is one way (i.e. you are providing info not asking for input) send the information out via email. Have a plan for if you have an outbreak.

Having worked at a variety of Universities I understand that Faculty have differing levels of control in different environments. But there are some things that most faculty at most institutions have control over. Ask questions of the administration and be familiar with the plan for the campus. Assess your personal risk level and make decisions from there. Reduce F2F time as much as is reasonable. Include online options when feasible, for example, lectures can be done online – either live or pre-recorded. Labs, not so much. If you aren’t comfortable with on-line, consider doing some lectures as pre-recorded content and some in person to reduce in person time. Require masks to be worn in your class. Put this requirement in your syllabus and stick to it. Reduce your class sizes if you work in an institution that gives you that option, require students to space out when you can. Hold class outside when possible – outdoor classes have less risk than indoor ones.

Invest in a face shield that has a nice fit against your forehead. Get several and wear them to class (just one at a time of course). Students will be able to see your face and hear you and you will have a nice level of protection. Face shields are easy to clean/disinfect and generally speaking will reduce the number of times you touch your face. Stay distanced from the students as much as possible and when not possible try to limit the amount of time you are within 6 feet of them to 10 minutes or less. Buy masks and have one for each day of the week. Do not take your campus masks home – let them be designated for campus only. Once you wear one, let it hang in your office for the rest of the week – don’t re-wear the same one again that week. Require masks be worn in your office – put a sign on the door. Don’t eat in the cafeteria. Don’t attend large social gatherings, wear a mask when you can’t avoid these things. Keep hand sanitizers in your classes and require all students to use it when they come in. Arrive early to class and clean common surfaces such as computer equipment, the mic, the podium, lab equipment, etc. Take your own dry erase marker/eraser if applicable. If you are high risk – opt for online.

Consider the high-risk areas of campus and ways to reduce your and your student’s times in those areas. For example, don’t hold class in the library unless you are able to do in a way that allows them to be socially distanced.

Develop a plan for how to manage high-risk students, give them options for how to participate in your class. Put these in your syllabus. Develop a plan for how to manage students who develop COVID and therefore have to be out. Consider your attendance policy and how you want someone with a cough to respond. What adjustments do you need to make? What about someone with a known exposure? (this is also where your university having one of those apps I mentioned earlier come in handy). How will you handle class once someone in the class has been exposed? Make a plan for if you get sick. Create a COVID section in your syllabus and include all these things. Be flexible.

Link to the CDC guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/colleges-universities/considerations.html

FINAL THOUGHTS: Let’s walk into this week strong, and bold, and confident. This week resolve to be in control, to be calm, to be focused. This week, this isn’t something that is happening to you, it is something you are managing. Let this be the week you embrace the crazy, the week you go on an online shopping spree to stock up on masks you love. Because if you are going to have to wear them, you may as well have cute ones – and plenty of them. Let this be the week we stop fighting against it and just embrace that this is happening, and we can win. This week, be a COVID warrior, informed, prepared, and unafraid. Because you are informed. You are prepared. And you are cautious but not afraid. Know that you are doing what you can, and that is all you can do. So be ok with that. Put a little whipped cream in your coffee and step into the fray because you are strong, and you are ready. And let’s agree to have ice cream for dinner.