COVID-Related Updates for This Week

Rockhurst Student, Faculty and Staff Companions,

With a little more than three weeks to go before Thanksgiving break, we’re providing important holiday reminders along with the COVID-19 case numbers in today’s update.

Important Reminders

• Remember to maintain six feet of distance between yourself and others, even if you are wearing a mask. For example, avoid sitting next to another person to work on a project together, even with a mask on.
• The Kansas City Health Department has asked that we not host “potlucks” for any reason in our offices or residential settings (with people who are not our residential partners).  Outside of the inherent risks of indoor social gatherings with masks off due to eating and drinking, there are concerns about cross contamination related to using the same serving utensils as well as uncovered food becoming contaminated with the virus.
• The CDC has updated the definition of “close contact” to being within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. 
• University offices will be closed the entire week of Thanksgiving -- Nov. 23-27.
• From Nov. 30 until Jan. 25, when the spring semester begins, University offices will be staffed but may have fewer employees on campus to reduce campus population density. All services will still be provided. Supervisors will discuss expectations for this time period with staff members.
• Are your experiencing video meeting fatigue?  Watch this Quick Tip Video to learn some easy ways to enhance your mental health (Thank you, RU Counseling Center!).

Holiday Travel

• Students should plan to embrace health protocols during their time away between Thanksgiving and the start of spring semester for the good of their families, friends and communities. It will be imperative to be rigorous in following the protocols for the two weeks prior to their return to campus, including use of Campus Clear, physical distancing, face mask wearing, hand washing, avoiding bars/taverns and high density or large gatherings and postponing unnecessary travel. Launching an in-person spring semester is dependent on keeping cases of COVID-19 very low and with an increase in cases throughout most of the country, strict vigilance to protocols is required. 

Positive and Quarantined Cases

We are currently Level 3 (Orange) out of four levels, which simply means there is one or more active cases on campus.

In general, our numbers continue to remain stable and low across most categories and populations. For undergraduate students on the Troost campus, the percent of active COVID cases has decreased from 0.5% to 0.1% and the percent of quarantined cases has decreased slightly from 1.0% to 0.9% over the past week. For graduate students on the Troost campus, there was an increase in active cases to 0.3% and in quarantined cases to 0.9%. There are no graduate student cases on the Westport campus. Faculty and staff cases across all categories on both campuses remain stable and low.

As of Oct. 27  

*None of the undergraduate positive cases are in University residential facilities. The number of beds available on campus for isolation is 46 and the number of occupied beds is one.

Definitions

• COVID Active: tested positive for COVID; isolated
• Quarantined: had close contact with a COVID-positive person; possibly being tested
• Close Contact: You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period; You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19; You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them); You shared eating or drinking utensils; They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

Have a safe, (face) masked, and physically distanced Halloween!

Sincerely, 

Matthew D. Quick, Ph.D.  
Dean of Students/Vice President  
Student Development and Athletics  
  
Douglas N. Dunham, Ph.D.  
Provost and Senior Vice President  
Academic Affairs