Policy updated to allow larger outdoor events
The Danforth Campus events and meetings protocol has been updated to allow a larger number of people to attend outdoor events. Starting this week, outdoor events or meetings may be approved for groups of up to 30 attendees. Previously, outdoor events were limited to fewer than 10 people. The update is a result of improving conditions in the St. Louis region and warmer weather that will allow for safely distanced outdoor meetings and events.
The original policy still remains in effect for indoor events, which are limited to a capacity of 10 or fewer, with prior approval. Any meeting or event with more than 10 people (if indoors) and more than 30 people (if outdoors) must be conducted virtually.
Student group events of any size — indoor or outdoor — still must be approved by Campus Life through the Spring 2021 Event Approval Process. Faculty and staff events are subject to approval by an executive vice chancellor, dean, or vice chancellor/provost overseeing the school or unit seeking to host an event.
Learn more by visiting the events and meetings protocol page on the WashU Together website.
Teaming up to fight COVID
The Brown School is working with the St. Louis Department of Health and other local policymakers and, through research, is providing guidance on containing the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 until vaccination ramps up to levels high enough to provide widespread protection.
It’s called TRACE (Testing Responses through Agent-based Computational Epidemiology), a collaborative effort by WashU researchers and the Brookings Center on Social Dynamics and Policy to produce a sophisticated, computational simulation model to inform policy responses to the pandemic. The effort draws on the extensive body of evidence about both the current and past epidemics. Read more in The Source.
WashU Med faculty video illustrates how COVID-19 vaccines work
“COVID Vaccine 101: How it Works” promotes understanding of COVID-19 vaccines with a simple two-minute video tutorial. It’s written and narrated by high-risk obstetrician Ebony Carter, MD, MPH, assistant professor of maternal fetal medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Danforth Campus faculty, staff and students are encouraged to pre-register to be notified when you become eligible to make an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. You can do this on the BJC website and through your local municipalities and the other health systems. See the COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ for more information.
Contributing to the cure
Four WashU alumni are among the researchers working around-the-clock on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19. Proud of their accomplishments to date, they say they won’t rest until there are no more deaths from the disease.
Read their story in the latest edition of Washington magazine.
What to do if you have symptoms
Now is not the time to get complacent. If you have a stuffy nose, sore throat, new or worsening cough or headache; even if you feel just “a little off,” even minor symptoms could be early signs of COVID-19. It is very important for everyone to pay close attention to any symptoms. Be sure to complete your daily self-screening before leaving your residence hall room or coming to campus and contact the appropriate department to report symptoms, seek guidance and if necessary, get referred for a diagnostic COVID test.
Danforth Campus students (on- or off-campus, undergraduate, graduate or professional) should call Habif Health and Wellness Center at 314-935-6666 or the COVID Call Center at 314-362-5056. Danforth campus faculty and staff should call the COVID Call Center at 314-362-5056.
Learn more about symptoms of COVID-19
Persevering
Nearly 12 months in, and it’s always good to see how the work of our students and staff continues on the Danforth Campus. Here, Kruttika Susarla, a graduate student in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, places a color drum in a storage container Feb. 21 during the MFA-IVC Risograph Workshop in the printmaking studio. For more photos on campus life, including those of perseverance in this time of COVID-19, see the Record’s weekly feature “The View From Here.” (Photo: Carol Green/Washington University)