Dear Bereans,

This is the update for Monday, October 17, 2022.  Welcome to the second half of the fall term!

Two profound quotes for Mountain Day (this Wednesday):

The mountains are calling and I must go.
John Muir 1873

Think like a mountain.
Aldo Leopold 1949

(Both these amazing American heroes of ecology are worthy of further study.)

Quarantine update

We’ve had a bit of a surge over last week and especially the weekend and, as of this morning we had seven students inquarantine, four at home and three in James Hall.  And, I’ve seen notification of two more cases during the day, today.  There is also a surge of cases among on-campus employees, and we now have nine faculty and staff quarantining with positive tests.  Those Bereans work in Student Life, Facilities Knapp Hall, Stevenson Hall, the Farm, Hafer-Gibson, Hutchins and Woods-Penn.  I have not heard that any of the cases represent serious health concerns at this point.

There are some other known close contacts in the case of some of these cases, and some further positive tests are likely.

COVID-19 Community Level

In contrast to our on-campus situation, the County and the Commonwealth seem to be doing reasonably well.  As of last Friday Madison County’s COVID community level remained for another week in the “Green” designation and now most of the state is “Green,” too, with only one county, Letcher County in southeastern KY in “Red.”  I attach a copy of this encouraging map below.

Kentucky update

The number of new reported cases in the Commonwealth continues to improve with 3240 cases in the past week compared to 3392 in the preceding week.  The test positivity rate is up a bit to 8.5%, whereas it was 7.9% last week. The number of deaths in the state is stuck at about 80/week or about 11/day.

Vaccination

It is still a great idea to protect yourself and lessen the severity of future surges on campus by seeking the updated COVID vaccine, now available to everyone over 12 years old.  Epidemiologists are starting to warn that a seasonal surge should be expected, and maybe that is what we are seeing on campus.  Anyway, it is too early to think we’re done with COVID, so please consider getting the updated booster as soon as your are able.

And, while I am on the subject, health experts are strongly encouraging everyone to get a flu shot, too.

Conclusion

With the increased numbers of cases on campus, we want to urge everyone to be as careful as possible.  Wearing a mask is still optional, but current conditions certainly suggest it is a good idea whenever you can.

Hoping to see everyone at the Pinnacles,
Lyle Roelofs, President
Berea College