Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
As we informed you in a public health alert last Thursday, the university experienced an increase in COVID-19 cases last week, mostly among undergraduate students. Based on contact tracing, we continue to believe that the increase in cases is primarily from multiple small clusters of social gatherings and activities, and that these cases are not tied to spread due to in-person learning.
As a result, we requested all undergraduate students get tested for COVID-19 and asked all community members to take additional precautions. If you are an undergraduate student and have not yet tested, please do so immediately.
This week’s COVID-19 dashboard, published each Monday, reflects both the increase in positive cases and testing during the past week. While our weekly overall community positivity rate is at a modest 0.80%, this still represents a greater than 100% increase over the previous week. To address this, we ask members of our community to note the following public health guidance:
- Wear a mask, including in dining facilities, studying spaces and lounge areas when not actively eating or drinking.
- Use Grab-and-go dining whenever possible as we continue to use a reduced density model for dining locations.
- Limit the size of gatherings at this time, and hold events and activities outdoors as much as possible. All meetings and events on campus must continue to follow our Event and Visitor Guidelines, which includes registering gatherings and confirming visitor vaccination status.
- Monitor symptoms and stay home if you develop symptoms. If you develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19, please remain in your residence, do not go to class, work or other events on campus, and report your symptoms to the Public Health team by completing the COVID-19 Daily Check-In survey via the GU360 mobile app or website.
If you have questions or would like to speak with one of our team members, please contact our Care Navigator team at covidcarenavigator@georgetown.edu or visit the University’s COVID-19 Resource Center for more information.
Thank you for helping us respond to this particular moment in order to keep our community safe, healthy and thriving.
Sincerely,
Ranit Mishori, M.D., MHS, FAAFP
Professor of Family Medicine, Vice President and Chief Public Health Officer