Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
In an effort to help our on-campus students get tested for COVID-19 and receive their results in time to return home safely for the Thanksgiving holiday, I have decided, in consultation with the COVID-19 taskforce, to move the majority of our campus operations to remote delivery during the week of November 23 – 27. This includes:
- All classes; classes that would have met on Monday and Tuesday must move all activities to remote format for those days
- Academic offices (provost, deans, departments)
- Student Navigation Center
- Center for Academic Excellence
- Student Life offices and services
- Information Technology Services
- Human resources
- Finance
- President’s office
This means that faculty and staff in these areas who are typically scheduled to be on campus for class or work during the week of November 23 - 27 (Thanksgiving week) should be prepared to deliver their courses and/or perform their jobs virtually instead.
Please note that while we are moving the majority of our operations online in an effort to support student COVID-19 testing the campus will not be closed. In-person operations will remain open as listed here.
Residence halls will remain open Wednesday – Sunday for students who applied and have been approved to remain on campus. The application for housing during the Thanksgiving break is located on the student housing portal, www.salemstate.edu/housingportal.
Getting Tested Before the Thanksgiving Break
- We encourage all of our students and employees who are on campus this semester to take advantage of free COVID-19 testing on campus the week prior to Thanksgiving so that you have your results by Friday, November 20 before any holiday event or travel. We will be providing extended testing hours that week. Students and employees can schedule a time to get tested and receive their results through the CoVerified app.
- If anyone is not able to access the testing on campus but would like to get a free COVID-19 test, we recommend taking advantage of the Stop the Spread testing sites throughout the Commonwealth. To learn more see: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/stop-the-spread.
Thanksgiving Travel
Per Governor Baker’s executive orders, anyone planning out-of-state travel to higher-risk states must complete the Massachusetts Travel Form prior to returning to Massachusetts. In addition, those re-entering Massachusetts from high-risk states must either quarantine for 14 days upon return or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72-hours prior to arrival. The full travel advisory including a map of low and high-risk states can be found here. Employees should connect with human resources if impacted by the travel order, and students should communicate with counseling and health services (978.542.6413).
Safety Tips for the Thanksgiving Holiday
Also, please only engaging in lower risk activities to prevent unknowingly bringing a COVID-19 infection back to our campus community after the break. Please keep in mind the following:
- Lowest risk activities: celebrations within your household, virtual dinner parties, small numbers of people, outside gatherings, shorter gatherings, no out of state travel
- Higher risk activities: celebrating with people outside of your household, travelling out of state, indoor socializing, shared foods (buffet style)
Post-Thanksgiving Return
A reminder that we plan to resume in person classes and activities on Monday, November 30. Students can return to the residence halls on Sunday, November 29 starting at 12 pm. Resident students will be required to take a COVID-19 test when they return from Thanksgiving Break. More specific information will be sent to resident students, including quarantine expectations for those who have traveled out of state. We understand, however, that the situation with COVID-19 continues to be fluid. We will notify the community if circumstances require us to change course.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
John D. Keenan
President
This message was e-mailed to the Salem State community on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.