Aug. 13: Masking and Other COVID Mitigation Measures

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Greetings Concordia Students, Faculty, and Staff:    

As the fall campus buzz begins and the campus becomes more populated, we are providing an update on COVID mitigation measures. The measures identified below are being enacted so that we achieve our institutional priorities:   

  • Living, learning, and working in community, to achieve transformational learning marked by mentored and collaborative experiences    
  • Creating vibrant campus cultures, in which students contribute to and are engaged in the life of the college, and that enrich the lives of those who work and study at Concordia 
The COVID Response Team and campus leadership have been closely monitoring the new MDH guidance related to the Delta variant and what this means for planning.  Several key facts that are important to know about the Delta variant:   
  • It is significantly more infectious because it takes less time to infect those within close proximity who are unmasked and indoors.     
  • There is evidence that it spreads among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.     
  • Nationally, the rate of hospitalizations in younger unvaccinated people is higher than with previous variants, and there are more severe health outcomes among young people who are unvaccinated.   

The most important mitigation measure continues to be vaccination.  Earlier this week, we were pleased to share that our vaccination rates among those who have shared their vaccination status, puts us on track to meet or exceed our target of 85% of our community vaccinated against COVID.  This level of community vaccination will put us on track to offer a less restrictive campus experience.  However, while we are still gathering the final student and employee information, we do not yet have enough information to say we have met our 85% goal. This fact, along with the Delta variant, means that we will start the year with some masking recommendations.  

Effective Monday, August 16th, the campus will be instituting the following mitigation measures.  These recommendations will be reviewed in early September and adjusted in accordance with MDH guidance and community COVID transmission levels.

Masking    

  • Concordia is strongly recommending that all people wear masks in indoor spaces when with other people.  This is especially important when social distancing cannot be maintained.    
  • All students and employees who are not fully vaccinated are expected to wear a mask in classes and public spaces on campus and maintain social distancing.    
  • Faculty may require masks be worn in their classes, laboratories, or studios at their discretion.  Faculty may wish to have students wear masks in certain situations, for periods of time during the semester.    
  • Students are expected to follow individual masking expectations set by their faculty, unless an accommodation has been approved.  Faculty can ask students who do not follow the masking expectations in their classes to leave the room, which will be considered an unexcused absence.  Faculty are not expected to make virtual attendance options possible for students who do not wish to wear a mask in their classes.    
  • Individuals may request guests to their office or workspace to wear a mask.  All members of our campus community should have a mask available and honor individual requests to wear a mask.    
  • Every person should be comfortable wearing a mask.  People should not face discrimination for choosing to wear a mask.
Vaccination expectation for college-sponsored travel    
  • All study away supported by the global learning office and music-related travel continue to require vaccinations.    
  • New measure:  All students engaging in college sponsored travel that lasts 48 hours or greater are expected to be vaccinated.  Students undertaking travel for co-curriculars, such as habitat for humanity, justice journeys, etc. will be asked to affirm that they have been vaccinated before travelling.
Quarantine and isolation     

We continue to monitor MDH expectations for quarantine and isolation.  Current guidance is as follows: 

Not fully vaccinated Quarantine for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19:       

  • If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) with someone who has COVID-19     
  • If someone in your household has COVID-19     
  • If direct physical contact (e.g., kissing, hugging, etc) with a person who is sick with COVID-19     
  • If you are providing care for a person who is sick with COVID-19 at home     
  • If you had direct exposure to respiratory droplets from a person contagious with COVID-19
Fully vaccinated     
  • You do NOT need to quarantine after contact with someone who had COVID-19 unless you have symptoms.    
  • Get tested 3-5 days after exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms.    
  • Wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative.
 
Thank you. 

COVID Response Group