Dear campus community,
As the spring semester comes to an end, Mines is also entering a new phase of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After two-plus years of active management, we have begun standing down our formal pandemic response.
What does this mean for Mines students, faculty, and staff? While some things will change (more on that below), what will not be changing is our shared responsibility for the health of our campus community. We all continue to have a personal role to play in maintaining a safe and healthy campus environment:
- Stay home (and away from campus) when sick
- Get tested for COVID-19 (rapid at-home or PCR test)
- Follow isolation and quarantine guidelines if you test positive or are a close contact
What will be changing starting later this week:
COVID-19 Testing
- Effective May 7, Mines community members seeking a free COVID-19 test through COVIDCheck Colorado (CCC) should use the general community sign-up link – including for appointments at the Mines testing site: my.primary.health/l/cdphe. The previous link, reserved for Mines community members, will redirect to the general sign-up page.
- CCC’s testing site on the Mines campus will remain open until further notice. Check their website for operating hours.
Case Management
- Effective May 14, the Mines COVID-19 Response Initiator Team (CRIT) will be disbanded, and Mines will no longer conduct contact tracing on campus.
- Students needing assistance with an illness should reach out to the Student Health Center and employees should contact their primary healthcare provider.
Faculty Notifications
- Effective May 14, Mines faculty will no longer receive COVID-19 quarantine/isolation student notifications from Student Life.
- Beginning in the Summer I term, students who must isolate due to COVID-19 should reach out directly to their instructors to make up any missed work and may request an excused absence if needed.
COVID-19 Dashboard
- The final update of the campus COVID-19 dashboard will be Wednesday, May 11. Local case data will continue to be available from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
- Over the summer, we will also take down the Mines Climbs Together website and move relevant content to the sites of the Student Health Center and Human Resources.
While we believe the time is right to make these changes, Mines will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in the larger community and take appropriate action should conditions or guidance require it. Thank you for doing your part by getting vaccinated, staying up to date on boosters, and living out The Oredigger Promise on campus and off. A huge thanks, too, goes to our pandemic response team for their tireless work to keep our campus safe. At Mines, we really do climb together, a fact that has been reinforced time and again during these past two years.
Regards,
Peter Han
Chief of Staff, President’s Office