Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
As we return to campus this fall, I recognize that our community members feel many different emotions about resuming in-person work, classes, meetings and events. I wanted to share some of the precautions we are taking to best protect your health and safety and provide an overview of what you can expect if you are returning to campus for the first time since 2020.
Please know that we are continuously monitoring public health conditions, including the impact of the Delta variant on our campuses in Washington, DC, and across the country, and we will adjust our public health protocols as necessary. You can find a recording from a Public Health forum that I hosted for faculty and staff last week on the COVID-19 Resource Center.
We are continuing or initiating many effective public health measures this fall:
- Contact Tracing and Care Navigation: Our Public Health team – the equivalent of our own municipal health department – coordinates contact tracing, care navigation, public health screening and many other services such as quarantine and isolation. For contact tracing to be successful, we need to have a way to reach you should the need arise. Please update your contact information, including a current phone number, in GMS as soon as possible.
- Vaccination: All members of our community who will be on one of Georgetown’s campuses or in a University-owned or operated building in Washington, DC, this fall must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The vast majority (>90%) of our community members will be fully vaccinated. The remaining community members, in accordance with federal and local law, will have an approved religious or medical exemption.
- Stricter Protocols for Unvaccinated Individuals: Individuals who are not fully vaccinated will be tested twice per week, will be required to wear a mask at all times (indoors and outdoors) and will be required to complete the COVID-19 Daily Check-In survey via the GU360 mobile app or GU360 website.
- Masking: We are maintaining our policy of masking indoors with limited exceptions for all members of our community. We may require outdoor masking for specific events or if warranted by local conditions.
- Free COVID-19 Arrival Testing: As we return to campus, we are requiring everyone – regardless of vaccination status – to get a COVID-19 test upon arrival to campus. This is done in an effort to catch and quickly isolate travel-related and asymptomatic infections before they spread.
- Free COVID-19 Testing as Often as You Desire: COVID-19 testing is available at no charge to faculty and staff members. Make an appointment online or in the One Medical app for testing at the Healey Family Student Center or Leavey Conference Center. More information about testing is on our website. Anyone who develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will be expected to get tested prior to resuming campus activities.
- Safe Work Environments: We have assessed our heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to ensure that they meet or exceed CDC COVID-19 standards for mitigation of viral transmission. Upgrades to building ventilation systems include MERV-13 air filtration for occupied spaces, installation of ultraviolet decontamination systems and building air flushing strategies to reduce airborne transmission.
- Awareness: We are continuing our Every Hoya, Everywhere campaign to build awareness of, and compliance with, our public health measures.
What to expect on the Main, Medical and SCS Campuses:
- Building Access: Main Campus and Medical Center buildings will be open to all students, faculty and staff, and will follow the same building access protocols that were in place prior to the pandemic.
- Dining: Main Campus food establishments will be open at full capacity no later than August 25, unless otherwise noted at the establishment. For information on hours of operation on the Main Campus, please visit the Hoya Hospitality website.
- Meetings: Physical distancing is encouraged, but not required if you are fully vaccinated, on our campuses, indoors or outdoors. Each office can decide how it would like to conduct meetings. Masks are required indoors (exceptions include when alone in a private office or eating).
- What To Do if You Have COVID-19 Symptoms, Test Positive or Have Been Exposed: Regardless of your vaccination status, please stay home if you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or a positive test result, and report your symptoms via the COVID-19 Check-In survey. If you receive a positive test result from a testing site other than the ones at Georgetown, please immediately report your result to the University’s Care Navigator team at covid19-test-results@georgetown.edu. If you are not vaccinated and have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you must stay home and contact the University’s Care Navigator Team who will get in touch with you and help you through any next steps. You can also email other COVID-19 questions or concerns to covidcarenavigator@georgetown.edu. Public health guidance from the CDC and the DC Department of Health advises that fully vaccinated people who have been exposed to a person with COVID-19 do not need to quarantine. However, vaccinated individuals should get tested 3-5 days after an exposure, even if they have no symptoms, and wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until their test result is negative.
- COVID-19 Leave and Dependent Care Grants: If you need to stay home or take leave for a COVID-19-related reason, please notify your supervisor and submit a leave request via GMS. In order to care for our staff and AAP employees, full-time staff and AAP employees were provided with 80 hours (10 days) of paid time off for reasons attributable to COVID-19 (“COVID-19 PTO”). This COVID-19 PTO is immediately available to be used if an employee cannot work (or telework) for reasons attributable to COVID-19, as described in the COVID-19 Paid Time Off policy. Staff/AAP employees who may have already used all of their COVID-19 PTO may apply for additional time off through the COVID-19 PTO Donation Program. The University has also reinstated offering COVID-19 Dependent Care Assistance grants for the Fall 2021 semester to defray dependent care costs, up to a maximum of $3,000 per eligible applicant.
Given the current public health situation, and despite these robust public health measures, we recognize this is a stressful time and encourage you to be gentle with yourself and others. We urge you to take advantage of University resources aimed at supporting your mental well-being. Such resources can be found on our Every Hoya Cares web page. You are also invited to join an upcoming listening circle or settling in session hosted by our Office of Human Resources.
Since the beginning of the pandemic we have worked together to meet the complex and unprecedented challenges that arose. We will continue to work together, with patience, flexibility and kindness to meet our community’s needs during these difficult times, and to adjust our protocols as conditions continue to evolve.
Thank you for all that you do to keep our community safe and vibrant.
Ranit Mishori, M.D., MHS, FAAFP
Professor of Family Medicine, Vice President and Chief Public Health Officer