Goddard College Coronavirus Update

November 18, 2021 Update

As we approach our 2022 Spring Semester, in Vermont and Washington, Goddard College remains committed to the health and safety of its students and employees. Prevention of illness and the spread of viruses is our top priority.

Goddard College is guided by science, and the research tells us that vaccination of the vast majority of our community will provide the best possible protection against COVID-19. This is critical for communities like ours, where we share living, dining, and learning spaces.

Therefore, all Goddard College students, employees, and visitors who will be on any campus at any time are required to be fully vaccinated (or have an approved religious or medical exemption on file).

We are closely monitoring developments of the pandemic and following the guidance of the Center for Disease Control, the Vermont Department of Health, and Washington State Department of Health. The College will follow Vermont and Washington state mandates regarding institutions of higher education when they differ from CDC guidance. We will keep this information updated if/as circumstances change. Please visit this page often, especially as you near your arrival on campus.

Goddard College provides a virtual option for all of its residencies. Individuals who are at higher risk of severe illnes s, and those who are not fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), should carefully consider using this option as they prepare for their residency.

In order for us all to be safe, and for all of us to feel safe, there are essential health and safety measures that each member of our community has the responsibility to follow to protect their own health and that of their colleagues. The information below is meant to help members of this community make appropriate decisions.

If you have questions about Goddard College’s COVID risk mitigation strategy, contact the Student Services Office.

Goddard College’s Vaccination Policy

As mentioned, all students and employees, on all Goddard College campuses, must be fully vaccinated prior to arrival, unless you have an approved religious or medical exemption. Students will be asked to share proof of vaccination, or have received an approved exemption, BEFORE you arrive on campus.

Fully vaccinated means that two weeks have passed since you received the final dose of an FDA or WHO-approved vaccine.

Unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated means you have not received your full vaccine dose two weeks prior to arrival, or you received a vaccine other than an FDA or WHO-approved vaccine.

It is also strongly recommended that students, faculty, and staff get a flu shot, as soon as possible, AND a booster vaccine. College students who live in congregate settings (with other students) in Vermont and in Washington, are 18 or older, and were fully vaccinated at least six months ago, are eligible to receive a booster shot.

Testing

Students who are not fully vaccinated and have an approved exemption, or travel to campus from outside the United States,* are required to be tested three or four days after their arrival on campus. Goddard College will provide rapid antigen test kits to these students; a PCR test follow-up will be required if symptomatic and rapid test is negative.
Student Services will also provide a rapid antigen test kit to students who experience any COVID-like symptoms during their in-person residency.
It is recommended that students get tested (once again), three to five days after completing their residency and/or arriving home.

The CDC explains the types of testing available and recommended here. PCR tests are available at nearby pharmacies, and Student Services can support your access to testing.

*Currently, per the CDC, all air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens and fully vaccinated people, are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result no more than three days before travel, or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past three months, before they board a flight to the United States. Students traveling internationally may use this negative test result for their campus pre-arrival test.

Symptoms & Exposure, Isolation & Quarantine

If you have been exposed in the last ten days to someone who you know or believe has COVID-19, please do not come to campus. Contact Student Services to arrange for virtual participation.

COVID-19 affects different people in different ways; infected people have reported a wide range of symptoms—from mild to severe.

Watch for:

Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

Symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus, and one can be contagious anytime between 2 days before and 10 days after the day symptoms present.

If someone is showing or experiencing any of the following severe symptoms, seek emergency medical care immediately:

Trouble breathing
Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
New confusion
Inability to wake or stay awake
Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

If you are experiencing ANY symptoms that might be COVID-related, regardless of your vaccination status:

Contact Student Services and isolate immediately.
Take a rapid antigen test (available through Student Services). If negative, remain isolated until you can repeat the test 36 hours later and receive a second negative result.
If positive, continue isolating, contact your healthcare provider(s), and respond to contact tracing efforts.

Isolation is required for people who are experiencing symptoms, test positive for COVID-19 or are diagnosed with COVID-19, and need to be separated from others to avoid infecting them. Students who test positive and need a safe place to isolate on Vermont’s campus may be moved temporarily to Pratt dorm.

End isolation only when 1) ten days have passed since the day symptoms began, 2) your symptoms are improving, and 3) you’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours (without medication).

If you have had possible exposure to COVID-19:

. . . and are not fully vaccinated, you must quarantine and should get a PCR test 5–7 days after your last exposure. If the test is negative, you must still quarantine for seven days.
. . . and are fully vaccinated, you do not need to quarantine, but you must mask when indoors for fourteen days or until you receive a negative PCR result.
Contact S tudent Services.

Quarantine is a way for individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19—through close contact with an infected person—to limit their contact with others while it is determined whether they have COVID-19.

Goddard staff are committed to your health and safety, and to ensuring you maximize your learning experience even if you are unwell, isolating, or in quarantine. The Student Services office will help access tests and testing sites, arrange isolation or quarantine as needed, arrange virtual access to your residency, provide personal check-ins, and offer general support. While we can provide free rapid antigen test kits to students in need, we are unable to provide transportation to PCR testing sites for unvaccinated students.

Social Distancing and Masks/Face Coverings

Following state Health Department recommendations, we encourage you to keep six feet between yourself and others, indoors and outdoors, especially if you are not fully vaccinated and/or are at greater risk for severe symptoms.

Masks/face coverings are highly recommended of all students, faculty, and staff on the Vermont campus, and required of all students, faculty, and staff when indoors on Goddard’s Washington campuses. They are not required, of course, when alone in dorm rooms, when attending to personal hygiene needs in the bathroom, and when seated and eating in the cafeteria, or other dining scenarios.

If you are not fully vaccinated, please wear a mask in public at all times.

Faculty and staff who must interact closely with students, and who are at increased risk for severe illness, may require students to wear face coverings in classes or meetings, even in situations where masks are not required.

Masks/face coverings must completely cover the nose and mouth and fit securely and snugly against all sides of the face. Please follow CDC guidelines for appropriate masks/face coverings.

Medical/surgical masks will be available in all meeting rooms on campus but/and, regardless of your vaccination status, students and employees should bring masks/face coverings to campus and have at least one on your person at all times.

Even in situations where face coverings are not mandatory, Goddard continues to be a mask-friendly campus: many members of our community will choose to wear face coverings even if not required to, and if so, individuals are supported in their decisions.

Hand hygiene and sanitizing

Students, faculty, and staff should frequently and thoroughly wash their hands with soap and warm water for at least twenty seconds, especially when entering a new area, after being in a public place, or after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing, or touching their face.

If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Hand sanitizer will be available inside the entrances to campus buildings, in classrooms, and event spaces.

Contact Tracing

If a student or employee tests positive for COVID-19, contact tracing (and isolation procedures) will be activated. A Goddard College staff member and/or the Department of Health will reach out—confidentially—to that person to gather information about who they have been in close contact with during the time when they may have been infectious and able to transmit the virus.

Close contact means physical presence within 6 feet, for a total of 15 minutes or more, over a 24-hour period, while one was contagious.

This confidential outreach then turns to those close contacts to provide them with information and resources to quarantine. To protect privacy, contacts are informed only that they may have been exposed to someone with the infection. They are not told the identity of the infected person.

Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 are encouraged to protect their privacy and carefully consider to whom they disclose this information.

More information about what to do if you have close contact with someone with COVID-19: (Vermont) (Washington)

Contacts-of-contacts are not considered at risk for developing illness and are not required to quarantine—unless they are in direct contact with someone who tests positive.

Employees Only

All employees are expected to be fully vaccinated by January 1, 2022 unless you have requested an ADA or religious accommodation.

If you are not fully vaccinated, you will be required to provide proof of a negative rapid antigen test weekly. If you receive a negative test result, but are symptomatic, please follow up immediately with a PCR test.

Employees with symptoms should self-isolate at home, inform their supervisor(s), and work remotely, if possible, until recovered.

Employees who are diagnosed with COVID-19 must inform HR immediately to activate campus contact tracing procedures.

We encourage employees to access our Employee Assistance Program if experiencing a high level of stress during these uncertain and ever-changing times.

Questions about COVID and Goddard’s risk mitigation strategy should be directed to Human Resources or Student Services.