Dear Members of the Campus Community:
Here are this week’s five things you need to know about Fordham’s COVID-19 precautions, vaccinations, and University operations.
All members of the University community are required to wear a mask indoors at all times when on campus with the exception of individuals who are alone in a room, or in their residence hall apartment, or bedroom. Please see the COVID-19 Guidelines on the web for detailed information: https://www.fordham.edu/
- In the last 14 days, 57 members of the University community tested positive for COVID-19, as listed on the University dashboard. (We are no longer reporting the positivity rate: the University is only testing individuals who are symptomatic or who believe they were exposed to COVID-19, rendering positivity rates inaccurate.) Fifty-seven positive cases represents less than half of one percent of the average on-campus population.
- In most situations, vaccinated individuals who are asymptomatic and who were in close contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19 are not required to quarantine, and should test 3-5 days after that exposure (testing sooner than that may not be accurate). Unvaccinated individuals are required to quarantine for 10 days and cannot “test out” of quarantine.
- Deans and vice presidents will be notified of positive COVID-19 cases in their areas (they will not receive the identities of the infected individuals), and may share that information with affected departments. This is in addition to the frequently updated University dashboard.
- “Vaccinated people are not as likely to spread the coronavirus as the unvaccinated. Even in the United States, where more than half of the population is fully vaccinated, the unvaccinated are responsible for the overwhelming majority of transmission… This is borne out by recent data from New York City that show that more than 96 percent of cases are among the unvaccinated. Only 0.33 percent of fully vaccinated New Yorkers have been diagnosed with COVID-19.” Craig Spencer, emergency medicine physician and director of global health in emergency medicine at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
- The University requires all members of the campus community to wear masks while indoors, with the exception of individuals who are alone in a room, or in their residence hall apartment, or bedroom. See the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on masks.
Marco Valera
Vice President for Administration & COVID-19 Coordinator
