Special public health update

The following message was shared with the campus community on Oct. 9, 2020.

I am writing today to share some concerning news with our University community. Over the past week, Ohio University’s Athens campus has seen an increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in students who are currently living in our residence halls on top of the high numbers of off-campus students. 

In fact, 20% of residents of Boyd Hall on the West Green are currently infected with COVID-19. This led to an order from the Athens City-County Health Department to quarantine the entire residence hall due to high risk of exposure. Earlier today, these residents were notified that we would be moving them into quarantine housing. 

This is a volatile situation. Even though we have planned carefully to minimize the impact of the virus on our campus and community, it is unfortunate that we now need to put our plans to the test. I know you have repeatedly heard us say that our students’ safety, and that of our community, is our priority. But, truthfully, every discussion and decision that we have made throughout the pandemic has focused on this very priority.

I am writing now to ask for your help and cooperation. We rely on every member of our campus community to adhere to public health directives, University policy and best practice to help stop the spread of disease in our community.

We ask each of you to practice the “Safe Six” to help keep our Bobcat family and Athens community safe: 

• Stay informed
• Wash your hands
• Avoid close contact
• Wear a mask
• Clean and disinfect
• Monitor your health   

Familiarize yourself with Ohio University’s two-prong testing strategy. First, symptomatic individuals who call the Ohio University COVID Response Hotline at 877-OU-COV19 (877-682-6819) will be referred to testing; these numbers are captured in the COVID-19 Hotline testing numbers.

Second, asymptomatic testing is currently being conducted on the Athens Campus. Individuals on the Athens campus may be randomly selected to be tested even if they are showing no symptoms. This asymptomatic testing allows us to identify people who may be carrying the virus but are unaware of it, thus helping us prevent outbreaks before they can grow. This strategy helped us to identify the cluster of cases in Boyd Hall early, mitigating risks to others and our community. Other residence halls also have rising cases; I ask you to be careful so we can avoid a similar situation in other settings.

Finally, I implore you to be safe as we celebrate Homecoming this weekend. We have planned several fun virtual events to help keep us engaged and connected with one another safely. If you do engage in face-to-face celebrations, please do so safely: avoid gatherings, wear a face covering, and practice social distancing.

We are working closely with Athens City-County Health Department and the City of Athens to combat this virus. The Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Chancellor of Higher Education have been notified of the situation and have also offered support. We are in this together; we all have responsibility to help keep our friends, roommates, colleagues, and neighbors safe in these challenging times. Please do your part so that we can work to combat this deadly disease and return to normal as soon as possible.

Dr. Gillian Ice
Special Assistant to the President for Public Health Operations