Preparing for more in-person activities
The following message was shared with the University community on March 2, 2021:
Dear OHIO community members,
I’m encouraged to say that case rates are trending downward in all counties with OHIO campuses over the past 21 days. Here on the Athens campus, we are testing more asymptomatic people than ever before, and the positivity rate is either holding steady or trending down. All other campuses have had very few cases. These trends are a result of the significant COVID response efforts the University has undertaken, and the public health measures that we have all supported. You can read more about these trends, and what has contributed to them, in OHIO News.
Even so, Athens County’s case rate remains the third highest in the state, and our neighboring counties of Morgan and Washington hold the second- and fourth-place spots. These are reminders that we are not out of the woods yet.
The governor has announced next steps in easing public health measures, with guidelines for sporting and entertainment events. He indicated guidance is coming soon for proms, wedding receptions, fairs, festivals and parades. My office will be working with the campus community to formalize how this might influence OHIO’s campuses. While the possibility of more opportunities to connect is exciting, we must be careful about the human tendency to relax completely instead of incrementally. We will need to proceed carefully to avoid yet another wave of cases. Still, I believe we can get there with careful planning and continued adherence to mask wearing and distancing.
More in-person activities
President Nellis announced yesterday that the University is preparing for more in-person activities this summer and fall, based on our successes this semester in containing the virus. I feel confident about our ability to offer safe learning and residential living environments, and my confidence is based on the positive results of the protocols we have all worked so hard on this semester.
Until the vaccine is administered to enough people to disrupt transmission of the virus, we will continue using important safety measures including masking, distancing and de-densification of classrooms to keep our learning environments safe. We know that transmission within our classrooms has been extremely limited, and that many other universities report low or no transmission. Studies of K-12 classrooms also report extremely limited transmission.
Similarly, we will continue to de-densify residence halls, and continue the asymptomatic testing of all students with a campus presence. We know that these tools are essential to providing safe residential housing and in-person campus activities. Last semester, the Athens City-County Health Department had to quarantine entire residence halls on three occasions due to spread. That has not happened this semester, and we have far more students living in residence halls. De-densification and regular testing help us keep campus safe -- I am appreciative of all of you who are adhering to our testing program.
We know that when transmission happens in the college setting, it is at largely at social gatherings, big and small. With that in mind, in addition to continued masking and distancing as the weather warms, we can all take a cue from Japan’s “Avoid the Three Cs” advice to avoid the three situations where COVID-19 spreads most easily: Crowded places, Close-contact settings, and Confined and enclosed spaces.
COVID-19 testing critical even as vaccinations increase
So far this semester we have identified over 800 asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, including 229 residential housing students on the Athens campus. That is 800-plus people we were able to identify, isolate, and stop from moving around our campus community. Especially considering the exponential spreading possibilities of each case, the results of our asymptomatic testing effort are significant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that the number of COVID-19 tests people are getting continues to decline nationally: over a seven-day period, COVID-19 testing was down 20 percent from the previous week. This is worrisome because testing is an important prevention tool for controlling community spread, particularly in school and congregate living settings. Indeed, the CDC announced that the federal government will soon expand testing in these settings.
This is exactly why we are testing asymptomatic individuals at OHIO. In addition to OHIO's required asymptomatic testing, anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 should be tested, and anyone who has been around someone with COVID-19 should also be tested.
Ohio vaccine update
Gov. DeWine announced yesterday the details Phase 1C and Phase 2 of the state’s vaccination program, both of which will begin this Thursday. Phase 1C allows those in certain professions, including childcare services and law enforcement, and those with certain medical conditions, including pregnant women and individuals with Type 1 diabetes, to begin their vaccinations. Phase 2 allows those age 60 and over to begin as well.
The governor also announced that the state continues to add vaccine provider sites, with more than 1,200 now available. The state expects to receive 96,100 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, for a total of 448,390 doses in Ohio this week.
Ohio continues to see a decline in COVID cases among nursing home residents, a testament to the vaccine program. The state reported 369 new nursing home cases last week, compared to 2,832 new cases in one week in December.
I’d like to emphasize that the only significant “side effect” that has been reported after hundreds of millions of vaccinations worldwide is a noticeable decrease in COVID spread. Vaccinated individuals are carefully monitored and invited to report any adverse reactions or side effects, which continue to be extremely rare.
Keep going!
With spring on the horizon and both Gov. DeWine and President Nellis announcing plans for increasing in-person activities over the coming months, we have so much to look forward to. Remember that increased interactions also bring increased responsibilities. We need to continue public health measures (like masking and physical distancing) to protect those who have not yet had access to vaccines – being as safe as possible is how we show people we care. The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines gives us all hope for getting back to something more normal after this long COVID winter. Although most of us are still waiting patiently in line for our vaccines, I feel so excited knowing the line is moving faster. A brighter future is on the horizon.
Dr. Gillian Ice
Special Assistant to the President for Public Health Operations