March 19, 2021
Dear Students,
We hope you’ve had a restful and relaxing break, and we look forward to the start of our spring term next week. A few reminders and COVID protocol updates are below as we settle back into campus life.
TL;DR: Please complete this antigen testing consent form; testing moves to Leverone starting Saturday, March 20; please note that testing during arrival quarantine will now happen on days 0, 3 and 6. A negative day 6 test result means quarantine ends day 7.
Classes: Next week, March 22 – 26, will be online instruction only. Students will not be taking classes in-person in our classrooms. This is to provide ample time to meet quarantine requirements following break. After next week, we plan to resume our in-person hybrid offerings.
Testing
Students will be COVID tested three times next week: on Day 0 (the day you return), Day 3 and on Day 6. If the test is obtained on day 6 of quarantine is negative, students can end quarantine on day 7. After March 26, surveillance testing frequency for the spring term will remain twice per week. Testing will move back to Leverone Fieldhouse starting Saturday, March 20.
You can find the March – April testing schedule here, and can quickly reserve a time slot for testing here. Please note that testing hours have been extended on certain days, to include Saturdays. At this time, vaccinated students, defined as students who are 14 days after their second COVID vaccination, are still required to test twice weekly throughout spring term.
Dartmouth will start to utilize rapid antigen testing in addition to PCR testing during the spring term. The advantage of incorporating antigen testing in addition to PCR testing is that if an individual is highly contagious, antigen testing will provide an early warning sign to isolate.
Rapid antigen testing will start on Sunday, March 21. Please complete the antigen testing consent form in advance of arriving at Leverone. The results will be available within 30 minutes and will be emailed to students from noreply.antigentest@dartmouth.edu. Antigen results will indicate that either A) no further action is needed, or B) students should contact Dick's House which could either mean the results were inconclusive or that a student may need to isolate. PCR tests – the type of tests we have used all year – have a higher sensitivity, allowing detection at any level of virus but take longer to provide results. By using both rapid antigen and PCR testing during the spring term, we will be able to isolate highly infectious cases in our community more quickly.
Quarantine
Arrival quarantine protocols will be in place next week following spring break. Arrival quarantine protocol is different from travel quarantine protocol. Greater details about arrival quarantine practices are on the Health & Safety page of the Tuck COVID website, including guidance about movement during quarantine.
What to Know about Arrival Quarantine:
If you have any questions about testing or quarantine policies, please reach out to Vincent Mack.
We look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Joe & Sally
Dartmouth has formed a high-level task force to plan for and manage possible disruptions related to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, monitor federal and state recommendations, implement guidance, and communicate with our community.