Spring Semester Message from President Inch
Maverick Community,
Welcome to the start of Spring semester. I hope you all enjoyed a safe, healthy and happy holiday season.
As you’re likely aware, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has become the dominant variant nationally. It is highly transmittable although it appears to cause milder symptoms than prior variants—especially for those who are vaccinated and boosted.
Fall semester went well and our collective efforts to take precautions and care for one another were effective. The Spring semester will require continued COVID-19 precautions and care for one another.
Spring semester will begin on Monday, Jan. 10, as planned, and all classes will proceed as scheduled. Faculty members are encouraged to reduce unnecessary in-class activities and interactions where possible for the first few weeks of classes. Additionally, all of us should consider adjusting large, in-person meetings or events to hybrid/virtual meetings for the time being.
To keep our campus community safe and healthy:
- Wear a facemask while indoors. Ideally, masks should be medical-grade quality. This requirement will continue until our county drops to the CDC’s “Moderate” or “Low” transmission levels for 14 consecutive days;
- Follow appropriate respiratory etiquette and stay home when feeling unwell;
- Everyone should do their best to test before returning to campus. Exposure testing is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. in Carkoski Commons, or find a testing site near you. Visit a medical facility if you are seeking symptomatic testing;
- Report any positive COVID-19 cases to the Healthcare Hotline 507-389-2030;
- Follow current MDH isolation and quarantine guidelines and accommodate/support individuals who need to isolate or quarantine;
- Everyone who can should get vaccinated and boosted as soon as they are able to do so. Unvaccinated people continue to have the worst outcomes from infection;
- Periodic town halls will occur to keep the campus community updated on the COVID-19 situation.
As a reminder, the requirement of proof of vaccine or weekly testing of all employees and students living in residence halls or participating in select campus activities remains in effect. For additional information, please visit our COVID-19 website or contact provost@mnsu.edu.
Sincerely,
Edward S. Inch, Ph.D.
President
