Dear Community,
This week’s email is sent in support of yesterday’s COVID update. Positive cases of COVID-19 have increased across the Pitzer College campus. As of today, we are at a total of 35 students and one staff/faculty in isolation. This number of positive cases may be alarming, but this surge was anticipated by healthcare professionals as students returned to campus from spring break. We are expecting numbers to decrease in a couple weeks with support from the community in upholding COVID protocols. The nature of the COVID-19 virus has evolved in the past two years, and we are seeing that the majority of cases have mild, cold-like symptoms. Our goal is to reduce on-campus transmission of the virus.
What can I do to help reduce on campus transmission?
Test! Testing is critically important in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Testing at least once a week is required for students and highly recommended to staff/faculty. Please remember to be mindful of others and report symptoms as soon as they are developed.
Mask! Masking is a critical public health tool in reducing the spread of COVID-19. What kind of mask is best? The most protective type of mask available is the N95 mask and its counterparts, such as the KN95. The next most protective mask is a medical grade surgical mask. The least protective type of mask is a cloth mask. The mask should provide a good fit (i.e. fitting closely on the face without any gaps along the edges or around the nose) and be comfortable enough when worn properly. Sometimes surgical masks can become loose after worn a couple times; a good solution to this is to wear your cloth mask over your surgical mask. The surgical mask and cloth mask combo provides almost as much protection as wearing an N95 or KN95 mask.
Medical grade surgical masks and KN95 masks are available for free in the Office of Student Affairs, Dean of Faculty Office, Gold Student Center, ResLife, the Pit-Stop, McConnell Dining Hall, and the Nurse Clinic.
See below the isolation summary as of Friday 04/01/2022
| Week of | Students Tested | Student Positives | Faculty & Staff Tested | Faculty & Staff Positives |
| 03/28/2022 | 1082 | 32 | 101 | 1 |
Thank you for your ongoing mindfulness and cooperation. The health and safety of our community continues to be the highest priority for us all. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.
Sincerely,
Nurse Zephyr
