Dear Danforth Campus community,
As we near the end of this calendar year and prepare for the upcoming spring semester, we know many of you are experiencing a great deal of uncertainty about what the near future will hold with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that we are headed toward another surge, both regionally and nationally, with cases on the rise and emerging variants causing renewed concern about increased transmission. As always, we are monitoring conditions in consultation with our medical and public health experts and stand prepared to adjust our policies and protocols as circumstances require.
At this time, while we continue to keep a close eye on trends as they develop, we believe our current mitigation efforts remain effective measures to protect our university community against COVID-19. Looking ahead to spring, we plan to continue with our current requirements: Wearing masks indoors, completing daily self-screenings, getting tested for even mild symptoms, and staying home when we’re sick. It’s extremely important that we all consistently follow these requirements, now more than ever.
We also are strongly encouraging all of our students, faculty and staff to receive a COVID-19 booster shot. At this time we are not requiring boosters, but we do hope everyone in our community will get one as an additional layer of protection. If conditions warrant, we will put additional public health measures in place, with the aim of keeping our community safe and healthy. This could include scaling back events and in-person gatherings, or other types of precautions, depending on the situation. We will communicate directly with you to inform you of any policy changes that may need to go into effect.
Our plan for fall has been extended into a plan for the 2021-22 academic year, which is available on the WashU Together website. We will keep that page, along with the COVID-19 FAQ page, updated with the latest information.
We know this has been a long road. We’ve made it this far successfully because of all of you, and your efforts to take care of yourselves and each other. We can’t say with any certainty what the future will hold, but one thing is for sure — together, we can meet tough challenges. We thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to our community.
Sincerely,
Andrew D. Martin
Chancellor
Beverly Wendland
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Shantay N. Bolton
Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Administrative Officer