COVID-Related Updates for This Week

Rockhurst Student, Faculty and Staff Companions, 

Today, unfortunately, we are sharing an increase in our COVID-19 positive and quarantine numbers. We will also provide some context to explain why we believe that despite this we can still stay on track to complete our semester as scheduled. Please take a few moments to read the following information carefully. 

Important Reminders 

• While our COVID positive case and quarantine numbers remain small percentage-wise, you will notice increases in many categories. Some important things to keep in mind are: 

o    We saw a dramatic number of preventive quarantines in our Troost campus undergraduate population due to two large unauthorized and non-compliant off-campus social events. We are confident that if we had not required these individuals who may have been exposed to the virus to quarantine we would have eventually seen additional increases in our positive case numbers. 

o    We have seen many cases arising from students who are having close contact with each other beyond a residential setting or with family and friends either locally or at home in surrounding states. In most circumstances they are not following protocols of mask wearing and social distancing, 

o    We have NOT seen transmission in academic settings, nor have we seen any significant hotspots in residence halls. 

o    We still have plenty of quarantine and isolation space remaining for residential students. 

• According to the Kansas City Health Department, going to bars is a high-risk activity. We recommend that you not visit bars. If you choose to do so and are of age, be sure that established health protocols are followed by the bar and individuals attending (groups of 10 or less, bar is not packed and following local occupancy ordinances, physical distancing is occurring, mask wearing when not drinking/eating is occurring, etc.).  RU does not allow bar crawls/tours/hops and other similar activity that creates unneeded exposure to a large number of high-risk environments during the pandemic, particularly when cases are on the rise in the city, state and country. 
• Please exercise good personal judgment if you arrive somewhere that you expect to be following protocols and observe that is not the case. Our ability to finish the semester as planned depends on everyone’s good judgment and collective commitment to following health protocols. 
• We are very encouraged by the high level of illness and exposure reporting we are experiencing – thank you for communicating with the University about your COVID-related information. Before you submit an Illness and Exposure Reporting Form, please be sure to complete your Campus Clear app’s daily log.  This will provide initial instruction for you – and indicate whether or not you need to file the form with the University. 

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. 

Kansas City community numbers continue to rise, the average number of days to receive test results has increased to three, and the percent of available ICU beds has reduced to 21%.  Given that, it is not surprising that in our RU community, we have seen increases in our numbers as well. For undergraduate students on the Troost campus, the percent of active COVID cases has increased from 0.1% to 1.1% and the percent of quarantined cases has increased from 0.9% to 4.1% over the past week. For graduate students on the Troost campus, there was an increase in active cases to 1.2% and a decrease in quarantined cases to 0.3%. 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 Nov. 3   

*Six 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 seven. 

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 

We are making plans to heat some of the tents on campus so that you will still have outdoor spaces in which to congregate, and we are also planning some fun and safe activities for students next semester. We know that it’s challenging to remain constantly vigilant and we thank those of you who are doing your best to keep our community safe. 

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