Dear Bereans,

This is the update for Tuesday, September 20, 2022.  (I had this ready to send on Tuesday evening, but somehow managed to leave it in my Drafts folder until this morning.)

Quarantine update

I have good news. The surge we were experiencing last week has slowed down significantly. Last week’s report noted a surge among students with 18 students in quarantine.  As of yesterday, we have only 5 quarantining cases among students, three are off campus and two are on campus.  Unchanged from last week, we have four on-campus employees quarantining with positive tests, but no positive cases among employees who work remotely.  The on-campus Bereans who have tested positive work in Fairchild Hall, Presser Hall,  the Ray House and Facilities.

COVID-19 Community Level

As of last Friday Madison County’s COVID community level has remained in the “Red” designation, and all of our neighboring counties have gone “Red,” too, as has most of Eastern Kentucky.

Kentucky update

The number of new reported cases in the Commonwealth has increased a bit to 9159 in the past week.  That is still about 1300 new cases per day.  The test positivity rate has continued to decrease and is now at about 12%. The number of deaths per week in the state is holding pretty steady, 80 this past week, vs. 78 two weeks ago.

Given that the situation is largely unchanged from the last two weeks, the College will continue its current masking policy:

• Masking will be required in all classroom settings and indoor mass gatherings (>500 attendees)
• Masking will be required in all residence hall settings, except in a student’s individual room
• Masking will be required in all music ensemble practices, but not for performers in performances
• Masking will be recommended for all Bereans in any indoor congregate settings
• Masking is strongly suggested for all Bereans in any off-campus public settings
• Masking will be required for all visitors at any campus events.

Lyle Roelofs, President
Berea College