Dear Members of the Georgetown Community,
With spring break approaching, we want to offer guidance for staying safe and healthy, regardless of where you are learning or working this semester.
We strongly recommend that members of our community follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by avoiding travel and social gatherings to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.
Travel to DC after winter break appears to have driven the increase in COVID-19 cases among the University community that quickly spread through even small social gatherings. As a result, Georgetown has had to enact a number of measures to limit further exposure and transmission. The best way to keep one another safe and to resume more on-campus activities is to limit travel and social gatherings – wherever you are for spring break – for the time being.
If you must travel, follow all public health guidelines before, during and after traveling to avoid getting infected yourself, and transmitting the virus to your family, friends and others. Bringing the virus back to DC – especially the more contagious variants – could lead to a spike in cases that will endanger our community’s health and further delay a return to more on-campus activities.
Classes restart after spring break on Monday, April 5. We are planning for hybrid undergraduate classes to resume in person on Monday, April 12, at an in-person schedule determined by the faculty member. We will be in communication with any changes to this planning process. This pause between April 5 and April 12 allows for the necessary quarantine after the break, should students, faculty or staff leave the DC, Maryland or Virginia (DMV) area during this time. Graduate hybrid courses will continue in-person operations, with mode determined by the instructor for each course.
For Those Leaving the DMV
Again, we strongly recommend that you do not travel over spring break.
Students and non-emergency employees who are eligible to come to campus and who travel over spring break for a few days to any state or country outside the DMV area should reenter the COVID-19 Testing Protocol by taking the steps listed below. (Emergency employees should start at step four).
- Begin self-quarantining upon your return to DC.
- You may take a test on campus within 24 hours of your arrival. You must continue your quarantine even if the test is negative.
- Schedule a COVID-19 test three to five days after returning to DC and continue to self-quarantine until you receive a negative result.
- Restart completing the COVID-19 Daily Check-in survey each day.
- Continue to get tested in accordance with the University’s COVID-19 Testing Protocol.
If you are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, test positive for COVID-19 or are not feeling well prior to your departure, please do not travel and do not come to campus.
Students and non-emergency employees in quarantine will not be permitted to enter any University building other than their on-campus residence or participate in any in-person University program or activity until they have received a negative result from their test three to five days after returning to DC.
For Those Staying in the DMV
Any community members who will be on campus between March 26 and April 4, and any students remaining in the neighborhoods of Georgetown, Burleith or Foxhall, must continue to get tested in accordance with the University’s COVID-19 Testing Protocol. Testing hours will operate on a normal schedule, but will be closed Friday, April 2, through Sunday, April 4.
Residential buildings will remain open over spring break, along with several dining options operating on slightly modified schedules. Students will be able to utilize their meal plan in Leo O’Donovan Hall, and Flex can be utilized at Leo O’Donovan Hall, Royal Jacket and the Hoyas @ Home Grocery delivery program. We encourage any students concerned about their ability to access food over spring break to contact the Division of Student Affairs.
Public health screeners will continue to be posted at buildings Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Community members entering campus buildings after-hours must have approved GOCard access.
GUTS buses will run on regular schedules. The Student Health Center will have a slightly modified schedule – open 8:30 to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday with no Saturday hours on March 27 or April 3. Lauinger Library and designated study spaces will continue to be available to students currently living on campus in University residential housing and to graduate students who have green GU360 badges, with reservations permitting them to use the study space. Access to Dahlgren Memorial Library will continue to be restricted to BGE, SOM and NHS graduate students.
No matter where you are, we encourage you to decompress and stay connected with friends and family virtually. It is critical that Every Hoya Everywhere do their part to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Groves, Provost
Geoffrey S. Chatas, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Ranit Mishori, M.D., MHS, FAAFP, Professor of Family Medicine, Interim Chief Public Health Officer