W&L COVID-19 Environment Levels

COVID-19 Alert Yellow High

The COVID-19 Committee tracks and considers 12 operational indicators and the data that impact them when making recommendations regarding the campus COVID-19 Environment Level. These indicators reflect the critical areas of operation required to deliver on-campus instruction. The committee reviews these indicators at least weekly, assessing how they are impacted by a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

  • Current numbers/case rates of COVID-19 cases among students, faculty and/or staff
  • Rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases among students, faculty and/or staff that cannot be tracked to known cases
  • 7-day and 14-day rolling COVID-19 test positivity rates
  • Number of students in isolation and quarantine
  • Number of close contacts identified by individuals who receive a positive COVID-19 test
  • Student, faculty, and staff compliance with community values, current guidelines and restrictions, daily attestation, and public health measures
  • Current numbers/case rates of COVID-19 cases in the surrounding community
  • Local and regional hospital capacity

Operational Indicators

  1. Ability to effectively and quickly trace close contacts of positive COVID-19 cases
  2. Ability to rapidly isolate all newly identified COVID-19 cases
  3. Ability to rapidly quarantine all close contacts of newly identified COVID-19 cases
  4. Ability to provide diagnostic testing of all symptomatic individuals and close contacts of identified COVID-19 cases, with reasonable turnaround time
  5. Ability to provide screening testing of asymptomatic individuals with reasonable turnaround time
  6. Ability of the Student Health Center to provide sufficient services for COVID-related and other student healthcare needs
  7. Ability of Dining Services to meet the needs of all students on meal plans, and to deliver meals to students in on-campus I/Q housing
  8. Ability to provide public safety services for the safety and security of campus facilities, functions, and student residents
  9. Ability to provide facility services to effectively maintain and operate a safe environment for all university facilities, in accordance with the latest public health guidance
  10. Ability to provide adequate levels of essential staff to run the university
  11. Availability of a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment, with the ability to maintain at least a seven-day supply for all essential operational areas
  12. Availability of adequate local and regional hospital capacity