For the Spring 2022 semester, UMW plans to continue its in-person campus experience while closely monitoring developments with the coronavirus, especially as new variants emerge. To do that, though, all members of the community must exercise common sense practices. Vaccination — including boosters — is the single most important tool we can utilize as we transition back to the in-person activities that define the UMW experience.

Vaccinations

UMW continues to strongly encourage students and employees to get vaccinated/boosted as soon as they are eligible, and we strongly encourage them to upload their information when they do so at the designated survey locations (Students and Employees). If UMW does not have record of your status, we will assume you are unboosted for purposes of quarantine and isolation protocols. For example, if you are boosted and had an exposure to COVID-19, you do not have to quarantine. Awareness of your status also allows the UMW public health team to provide the best and proper ongoing advice for our Quarantine and Isolation practices.

Masking

Besides vaccines, the wearing of a well-fitting mask is highly effective at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, including its variants. Consequently, masks will be required indoors in public spaces, which include all classrooms, laboratories, meeting spaces, foyers and hallways, and auditoriums. Masks are not required in one’s own residence hall room, private offices, other spaces where you are alone, and when eating and drinking. We also strongly recommend wearing a mask when outdoors in large groups. We especially recommend KN95 masks (available on campus at the UC or by work order request to employee departments), double masking, or equivalent masks.

Testing

Everyone who has COVID symptoms, regardless of their vaccination status, should stay away from others and get tested. Students can contact the Student Health Center, while employees should consult their health care provider or get tested at a local pharmacy.

COVID testing will be available at Bushnell Hall for members of the UMW community who believe they might have been exposed. It will be available on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Information on hours and accessing those tests will be made available. You can also contact covidtesting@umw.edu. We encourage those who are most vulnerable to the virus to take advantage of the regularly available testing.

Flexibility

As we’ve all learned since March of 2020, COVID-19 is a moving target. Thus, members of the UMW community need to be flexible and adjust as conditions and directives change. The Public Health Advisory Working Group and the Cabinet will keep a close eye on many of the metrics we measure on our dashboard and the local COVID conditions. These include case counts, weekly testing numbers, quarantine/isolation space availability, local hospital capacity, local positivity rates and transmission numbers, among others. And, as necessary, we will take additional temporary steps to further protect the UMW community, including limiting gathering sizes, changing modality of courses, limiting visitors, etc. We also look forward to conditions that warrant lifting of restrictions.