W&L COVID-19 Environment Levels

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
- Ability to effectively and quickly trace close contacts of positive COVID-19 cases
- Ability to rapidly isolate all newly identified COVID-19 cases
- Ability to rapidly quarantine all close contacts of newly identified COVID-19 cases
- Ability to provide diagnostic testing of all symptomatic individuals and close contacts of identified COVID-19 cases, with reasonable turnaround time
- Ability to provide screening testing of asymptomatic individuals with reasonable turnaround time
- Ability of the Student Health Center to provide sufficient services for COVID-related and other student healthcare needs
- 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
- Ability to provide public safety services for the safety and security of campus facilities, functions, and student residents
- 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
- Ability to provide adequate levels of essential staff to run the university
- 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
- Availability of adequate local and regional hospital capacity