October 15, 2020

Dear students,

You saw from Dr. Spangler's message today that the university has moved its COVID-19 alert status from green to yellow now that a COVID cluster of 18 varsity athletes on the same team has tested positive for the virus. Protocols to address increased numbers like these are in effect, including isolation, quarantine, and contact tracing. As an additional precaution, classroom buildings will be not be available until further notice except for the small number of approved research activities and classes currently using them.

Most close contacts who need to quarantine have heard by now from contact tracers; if you have not but have been in close contact in the past seven days with a member of the men’s ice hockey team, or with anyone who has tested positive, please follow the directions in Dr. Spangler’s message: quarantine in your room or off-campus residence, and call the Campus COVID Resource Line, at 203-432-6604, for instructions.

You are already familiar with the yellow alert level because it was in effect during the first weeks of the semester. Even so, please ensure that you are taking the usual steps to protect your health and others': cover your face when you are in public, stay six feet apart, keep your hands clean, complete your daily health checks, and stick to your testing schedule. Please be especially attentive to these practices, not only during the yellow alert but always.

Remember also that although heads and deans will not be reporting cases to residential colleges, you can always find the community's publicly available COVID-19 statistics here. You can also find information, updates, and previous messages on the university's COVID-19 site. And if you have questions, you can always call the Campus COVID Resource Line, at 203-432-6604.

I thank you all for the care you have taken to follow public health guidelines; these are vitally important to protect the public's health and yours.

Sincerely,

Marvin M. Chun 
Dean of Yale College 
Richard M. Colgate Professor of Psychology; Neuroscience; Cognitive Science