January 4, 2022

Dear students,

I hope you are enjoying the winter recess and spending time with family and friends, whether you are home, traveling, or here in New Haven. Although many of you are still finalizing your plans to return to campus, you can start preparing now, even before you travel, so that you can fulfill public health and safety expectations that will apply to all students. Those expectations follow, below, along with information about a two-phase quarantine during the first weeks of the term. I know that you are also eager to know more about policies concerning visitors, performances, gatherings, and other activities. Updates or changes to those will be available in the next few weeks, and I expect to be writing to you then to tell you more. In the meantime, here is what you can expect before and after you arrive:

Arriving

If you live on campus, you may move in any time between January 14 and February 4.

Keep in mind that until January 21, students will be preparing for or taking make-up final examinations. To support them, the residential colleges will be observing a quiet period: public spaces like butteries and gyms will not be open, social gatherings will not be permitted, and daily quiet hours will apply. If you will be arriving before January 22, please be respectful of your classmates focusing on their exams.

You do not need to obtain approval for arriving on any particular date, but you do need to register your arrival time to enable the residential colleges, test sites, and dining halls to plan. Once you do arrive on campus, please avoid any unnecessary out of state travel until after February 7.

Please register your arrival time no later than Monday, January 10, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, in the Yale College housing portal.

If your plans change, reschedule your arrival in the housing portal using the link above.

The Morse and Stiles dining halls will be open beginning with dinner on January 14; others will open as the campus repopulates. Dining halls will start with to-go meals, resuming in-person dining as public health conditions allow.

Booster and flu shot requirement

You must fulfill the booster and flu shot requirements before coming to campus. If you did not receive these shots through Yale Health, you will need to upload your documents.

If you have any questions, please call the Campus COVID-19 Resource Line at (203) 432-6604.

Pre-arrival testing

Please get a COVID-19 test before you return to campus. You may get either a rapid test within 24 hours of travel or a PCR test within 72 hours. Please wait until you get your results before you travel. You do not need to submit your test results, but if you test positive:

  • Call the Campus COVID-19 Resource Line at (203) 432-6604 for instructions.
  • Do not come to campus until after you complete your isolation.

If you have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days outside of the Yale Health system, please email your test result to studentmed@yale.edu so that your testing requirement can be paused.

Arrival testing

Test as soon as you return to campus, ideally on the day you arrive; make that appointment now, as demand for testing is high. If you are already in New Haven, start testing now. If you need to change your testing appointment, please make sure to cancel your first one to make that time available for someone else.

After your arrival test, resume your usual Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday testing pattern, which you can view in the Yale Hub. This may mean you test two days in a row; that is okay. I recommend you make these appointments now as well.

Schedule your arrival and routine testing appointments using the following link:

Arrival quarantine

A two-phase quarantine will be in place when you arrive:

Phase one, your individual in-room quarantine, starts when you arrive and ends when you receive the results of your arrival test.

  • Stay in your suite or off-campus housing as much as possible until you receive your results. Leave only to pick up meals, to test, or for other medical purposes.
  • Wear your mask, even in the company of your suitemates or household members.
  • Avoid unnecessary contact with others.

Phase two, a campus-wide quarantine, is in effect for everyone. It is currently expected to end on February 7, but may extend beyond that date if on- or off-campus COVID-19 rates are high.

  • If your arrival test is negative, you may move around campus, but avoid local businesses, restaurants, and bars, including outdoor drinking or dining. (If your results are positive, follow the instructions you receive from the Yale Health care team.)
  • Feel free to order curbside pickup, or take walks or runs off campus.
  • Follow these guidelines whether you live on campus or off.

I send you my best wishes during these remaining days of the recess, and I look forward to welcoming you back to campus in the weeks ahead.

Sincerely,

Melanie Boyd
Dean of Student Affairs
Senior Associate Dean, Yale College
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