North Richmond Today

Virginia State University issued the following announcement on Jan. 7

We are excited to welcome you back to campus for the spring 2022 semester. To ensure your safety, we are closely monitoring all updates and developments relating to COVID-19, specifically the highly contagious new Omicron variant. 

We urge all members of our VSU community to do their part to keep our campus safe.  Vaccination (including the booster shot) and mask wearing are the most effective tools we have to prevent severe outbreaks on our campus.  

Proof of full vaccination and booster 

• Full COVID-19 vaccination (including the booster shot) is required for all students and employees for the spring 2022 semester.  
• All VSU students and employees must upload proof of an approved booster shot to the secure Medicat Portal (Click here) no later than February 1, 2022. 
• Those who are not eligible to receive their booster by February 1, 2022 must submit proof of their booster no later than 30 days following their first day of eligibility. 
• If you experience trouble uploading your information into Medicat, you may email it directly to HealthCenter@VSU.edu. 
• If you previously received a medical or religious exemption from the University’s vaccine requirement, you will automatically be exempt from this new booster requirement and do not need to take any further action, other than to continue complying with testing requirements and other public health policies.   

On-campus vaccination clinics 

• To assist with full compliance, VSU will offer on-campus vaccination clinics offering 1st, 2nd, and booster shots January 11-16, 2022.  You must pre-register to receive the vaccine. 
• Click here to register for vaccinations (Employees Only). Appointments available Tuesday, January 11 and Wednesday, January 12, 2022. 
• Click here to register for vaccinations (Students or Employees). Appointments available Tuesday, January 11 through Sunday, January 16, 2022. 

COVID Entry Testing 

• All employees and students must show proof of a COVID test upon arrival on campus. However, if you currently feel sick or are experiencing COVID symptoms, do not report to campus for testing.  
• VSU will provide entry testing in Whiting Hall today through Tuesday, January 11, 2022 from 8:30am-3:00pm, and in Daniel gymnasium from Wednesday, January 12- Sunday, January 16, 2022 from 8:00am-5:00pm. 

Off-site testing  

Students and employees may elect to test off-site as long as the test is administered within 48 hours of returning to campus. Proof of a COVID test must be presented to the on-campus testing site (listed above) prior to reporting to office space or dorm room.  Once received, you must upload your test results to the Medicat Portal (click here). If you experience trouble uploading your information into Medicat, you may email it directly to: HealthCenter@VSU.edu. 

On campus testing 

The VSU medical staff will utilize PCR tests for on-campus testing, so results will not be immediately available. Test results will be sent to VSU Health Services.  You will be contacted ONLY if your results are positive. Everyone should limit their exposure to other individuals as much as possible until test results are known.   

• After initial entry testing, anyone who has COVID symptoms, regardless of their vaccination status, should stay away from others and get tested. Students can contact the Student Health Center, while employees should consult their health care provider or get tested at a local pharmacy. In addition, vaccinated people who are exposed but are asymptomatic should get tested 3-5 days after their exposure.   

Surveillance Testing 

• Surveillance testing for COVID-19 is an important public health tool that provides a way to monitor for community outbreaks. Surveillance testing takes samples from a percentage of a certain population, regardless of whether or not the sampled persons were exposed to the virus or are symptomatic. VSU will randomly choose 10 percent of the campus population to test each week.  You must comply with the surveillance testing.   

Mask Requirement 

• Wearing a well-fitting mask (preferably KN95) is highly effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, masks are required in all indoor and outdoor spaces on campus to include classrooms, laboratories, meeting spaces, hallways, bathrooms, when interacting in close proximity to others, etc. Masks are not required inside private office spaces, personal dorm rooms, or when eating and drinking.  

Alternate schedule for the start of classes 

For your safety and due to the highly contagious Omicron variant, we will modify our course offering/modalities for the first two weeks of class, January 18- January 28, 2022.  The two-week timeframe will allow University officials to assess data and campus conditions to make further well-informed decisions. 

During the first two week of classes, faculty will utilize HyFlex (hybrid flexibility) or fully online modalities for courses that were scheduled for in-person learning.  This is a temporary change for the first two weeks of class only. The professor has the flexibility of deciding their mode of instruction. Please be sure to check your Blackboard and VSU email for information from professors regarding course delivery method. Once the University returns to in- person learning, students must attend in-person in order to receive course credit. Students may not choose to remain virtual if the course is returned to the original face to face instruction model.

On-campus Housing 

Residential student move-in will continue using the current check-in schedule. For the first two weeks of adjusted course schedules, students may still choose to live in campus housing. Students may also choose to remain at home if their adjusted schedule permits. If this option is chosen, students must inform Residence Life and Housing via email at reslife@vsu.edu. All residential students are required to return to campus no later than February 1, 2022. Check your VSU email for additional information. 

Dining 

With the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, dining in public settings continues to be one of the highest risk activities as eating and drinking requires the removal of masks. For the start of the semester, all dining at VSU will be provided as “grab and go” options.  Students are strongly encouraged to minimize the number of people they eat with until we get past the peak of the current surge. 

Athletic Events

For the health and safety of our student athletes and our Trojan Community, VSU will not allow any spectators to be present during at-home basketball games for the next two weeks through January 22, 2022.

Flexibility 

As we have learned since March of 2020, the COVID-19 virus is ever-changing and unpredictable. Therefore, we ask that you remain flexible as we adjust to these changing conditions. Our VSU administration and COVID Taskforce will keep a close eye on local COVID conditions.  These include case counts, weekly testing numbers, quarantine/isolation space availability, local hospital capacity, local positivity rates and transmission numbers, among others. We will work with local, state and federal health officials for continued guidance. And, as necessary, we will take additional steps to further protect our Trojan community, including limiting gathering sizes, changing modality of courses, limiting visitors, etc. Be assured, we will continue to keep your health and safety at the forefront of our planning.  We look forward to a great spring 2022 semester.

Original source can be found here.