Dear Marist Community,

We appreciate this recent campus pause has been a challenging time, and dealing with constant change so close to the end has not been easy. It has, however, allowed our medical team to test over 2,000 members of the campus community in the last seven days. The early results from those tests to date are encouraging and illustrate a low infection rate. We believe the hard work of the Marist community has been effective:

• As Commissioner of Health Dr. Anil Vaidian noted earlier this week, the College has worked diligently to contain COVID and the County is “not seeing a spillover into the general community” from Marist. Our top priority has always been the health of the Marist and Dutchess County communities.
• To maintain our success for the health of the Marist and surrounding communities, we have been more conservative in instituting our campus pauses than New York State guidelines, which mandate them for 100 active cases within a specified two-week period.

As a result of our collective actions, and with the information we have currently, the campus pause is being extended through the weekend, but we believe we are on track to lift the pause on Monday, November 16. Of course, our final decision will be based on the results of our remaining testing and tracing efforts. We expect to be able to confirm this plan or notify the community otherwise by Sunday, November 15 at the latest.

As a reminder, during the campus pause the following guidelines remain in place:

• All classes will be held remotely
• All on- and off-campus activities, including gatherings of any kind, are suspended
• For public health reasons, students are encouraged to limit their interactions to their “pod” (e.g. roommates or immediate housemates)
• Outdoor individual or small group “pod” activities, with appropriate public health measures in place, are permitted (e.g. taking a walk around campus, eating outside, socializing with roommates, etc.)
• Students must stay within their own room/apartment in their residence facility. Students are prohibited from visiting any other room, traditional residence hall, apartment, or townhouse.
• In-person dining is paused and meal plans are grab-and-go only.
• All athletic team training sessions are canceled.
• The James J. McCann Recreation Center will remain closed to recreational activity
• Students must remain on campus and avoid traveling unless such travel is directed by Marist health professionals or staff
• Only officially approved visitors are allowed on campus
• Students who have gone home may only return to campus if cleared by Marist Health Services

Our common goal is to finish the on-ground portion of the semester with in-person classes starting Monday. We urge you to continue to be vigilant and recognize that COVID-19 still presents a serious threat to our campus and to the greater community. We must continue to follow our health protocols: wearing a mask, maintaining social distance, and practicing good hygiene such as hand washing. It is of the utmost importance that all members of the community adhere to updated New York State guidance as communicated by the Governor. Individual behavior will be a major determining factor in whether the pause is lifted on Monday.

Please be reminded of the steps in place for the end of the semester as detailed in our communication on Tuesday, notably pre-departure testing.

As always, information about COVID-19 cases related to the College is available on our dashboard, which is updated daily, generally by 5:00 pm. If you see any Marist community member violating our COVID-19 related Code of Conduct, please call (845) 575-MASK.

Sincerely,
Geoff Brackett, Executive Vice President
Thom Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Deb DiCaprio, Vice President for Student Affairs