Oberlin Omicron Surge Was Predictable and Avoidable
“We don’t always need to wait for the unthinkable to happen in order to pivot toward productive policy.”
College Faces Food Delivery, Testing Challenges Amid National COVID Spike
“With 176 students, faculty, and staff testing positive for COVID-19 since campus reopened on Jan. 2, the Office of the Dean of Students, in collaboration with AVI Foodsystems, coordinated a volunteer meal delivery program, but problems with food delivery and testing delays still remain.”
Testing and Tracing: Tracking the Origins of the December 2021 COVID Outbreak
“In the final week leading up to winter break, a total of 158 students, faculty, and staff tested positive for COVID-19. Here, we break down the College’s decisions leading up to Dec. 20, changing health care guidance, and reaction to the outbreak.”
College Reports 50 New COVID-19 Cases Today, Updates ObieSafe Policies
“This evening, President Carmen Twillie Ambar announced that over 50 students had tested positive for COVID-19 in the past day. In response to this rise in cases, all classes will be held remotely in the final two days before winter break and all in-person gatherings, concerts, and athletic events prior to winter break will be canceled.”
“The College will no longer test vaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 unless they are symptomatic, according to an announcement earlier today. This change is in line with Ohio Department of Health and local guidelines but goes against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.”
College Announces New Indoor Mask Mandate, Vaccination Policy
“On Monday, the College reinstated a mask mandate for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals when indoors, unless they are in their homes or offices with the door closed. The College also released an announcement today, requiring students to be fully vaccinated within 45 days of the Federal Drug Administration’s vaccine approval after its initial Emergency Use Authorization.”
College Completes Weekend Vaccination Clinic Just as CDC Issues Pause on J&J Vaccine
“The Federal Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended pausing distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine yesterday, citing six cases of severe blood clotting in individuals who had recently received the vaccine. The news comes after the College inoculated nearly 600 students, faculty, and staff with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a clinic that ran from last Friday through this Monday.”
College Approved as Vaccination Site, Ohio to Expand Eligibility to Anyone 16+
“Governor Mike DeWine announced yesterday morning that Ohioans sixteen and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 29. The same day, the College’s partners at Harness Health indicated that the College had been approved as a vaccine distribution center by the state of Ohio.”
A Community in Isolation and Collaboration: COVID-19 Year in Review
“The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, sending the whole world into a tailspin. A year later, life on campus looks strikingly different than before the pandemic, and our college experience looks different than what we pictured for ourselves.”
College Reports Six New COVID-19 Cases in One Day
“After three consecutive weeks with zero new COVID-19 cases on campus, six people tested positive for the virus yesterday, including four students, one faculty member, and one staff member.”
16 Students Asked to Leave Campus For Breaking COVID-19 Community Agreement
Sixteen students who were found in violation of the COVID-19 safety practices in the College’s Community Agreement have been asked to leave campus and complete the remainder of the semester remotely.
Amid Travel Restrictions, 139 International Students Study Remotely
“Of the 317 people with F-1 student visas enrolled in the fall semester, 139 are studying remotely. For international students who stayed in the country through the break — or who were able to return to the U.S. this semester — rapidly changing federal guidance in the past few months prompted much uncertainty about their ability to attend Oberlin this fall.”
Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing 