ALISA OPPENHEIMER
News Editor
As we head into our fifth week of classes, Fredonia’s total number of positive cases has increased from 89 on Monday, Sept. 14, to 96 total positive cases at the time of publication.
According to the Fredonia COVID-19 dashboard, there are nine active student cases, and two active employee cases of COVID-19.
Although our total positive cases are rising slowly, the campus community must still proceed with caution.
Masks and social distancing are still a necessity.
To strengthen communication with faculty and students on our university’s COVID-19 standing each week, President Stephen Kolison previously discussed a weekly email update.
This past week, Kolison implemented this new weekly update message via campus-wide email on the night of Sept. 17.
In the email, Kolison addressed updated guidelines advised by SUNY.
“We have new guidance from SUNY pertaining to the COVID-19 cases threshold to ‘pause’ or suspend in-person learning for two weeks,” he wrote.
In the memo sent from SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras’ office, he informed all SUNY schools of a revised policy of measuring the percentage of positive COVID cases in individual two-week increments.
“The Chancellor’s Office sent all SUNY Presidents a memo yesterday clarifying the 14-day timeframe for measurement,” said Kolison.
The memo says: “For purposes of New York State Department of Health’s mandatory requirement to suspend in-person learning… campuses should measure the percent of COVID positive of their total on-campus population only during individual separate 14-day periods and not as a rolling average.”
The memo referenced in Kolison’s email also listed each period organized by dates of that specific week.
The first period went from Aug. 28 to Sept. 11, the second is from Sept. 12 to Sept. 25, the third is Sept. 26 to Oct.9 and so on, up until Dec. 18.
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Based on this newly implemented guidance, Kolison informed everyone that if we at any point reach 100 positive cases in any of these 14-day periods, all in-person learning will be changed to remote for two weeks.
However, Kolison said that he isn’t just taking the Total Campus Administered Tests into consideration in regard to shutting down.
“Let me indicate we will not rely only on the TCAT to determine whether we should pause in-person instruction. The Cabinet will monitor other variables including non-campus administered tests involving our students, faculty and staff to help make such a determination,” he said.
“In addition, I will provide you an early alert for pausing in-person instruction should our positive cases begin to look precarious. I will not take us to the brink before acting.”
With this, the entire campus community has still been advised to abide by the social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on our campus.
Additionally, the university will be conducting another round of surveillance testing this week, beginning on Sept. 18, where they anticipate testing 400 students, approximately 10 percent of our student population.
According to an email sent by Enrollment and Student Services on Sept. 15, The Student Health Center works in coordination with Brooks Memorial Hospital in order to conduct PCR Testing.
“Specimens are couriered to the local lab at Brooks Memorial Hospital and results are shared with the Student Health Center. Students are then notified of their results by the Student Health Center,” they said.
If a student is randomly chosen to be tested, they will be contacted by Fredonia, and must proceed with the testing process in order to remain in good standing as a student.
Enrollment and Student Services said, “If a student is an on-campus student and fails to present for testing, they will lose their privileges to live in the Residence Halls and attend any on-campus activities including classes. If a student is an off-campus student and fails to present for testing, they will lose their privileges to attend on-campus classes and activities.”
Out of the last two pool tests, the first one with 75 student participants, and the second with 64, there was only one positive case out of all those students.
This week, let’s hope we get down to none.
For more information, students can either reach out to Enrollment and Student Services, or utilize the following resources: