Campus News
November 11, 2021
PAGE 4
The state of COVID on campus
After the City of Springfield lifted its mask mandate, Springfield College released updated guidelines to continue managing the spread of the virus on campus. _ By Garrett Cote _ @garrett_cote
Just last week, an email was sent out to those on campus informing them that, adhering to the city of Springfield’s mandate, masking outside was no longer required. As the current number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the Springfield College community remains small, so buds the question, will the masking guidelines be lifted altogether by the start of the Spring 2022 semester? Because of the soaring vaccination rate on campus - which is now in the high 90% - this question may spark a valid point. Despite that, however, the school has no current plans to ditch the world-famous pieces of fabric anytime soon. “One week feels long enough in COVID time, so two or three months
The Springfield College COVID Dashboard is frequently updated on the College’s website. (Screenshots courtesy of springfield.edu)
is an eternity,” said Kathleen Hogan-Soltys, Nurse Practitioner and Director of the Health Center at Springfield College. “Things just change so quickly. We would love to give the students what they want and take away restrictions, but it’s just not the time or place yet right now.” As of Nov. 5, there are just four members of the Springfield College community in isolation, all of which are off campus students.
There is currently nobody in quarantine on campus, and there have been only two positive tests since October 29. These numbers certainly deserve to be celebrated, and Hogan-Soltys understands and acknowledges that. “I can tell you that from all the meetings I sit in, we really are so pleased with the response of the students getting vaccinated and following what we know are restrictive guidelines,” she said. “It’s
not easy, but everyone seems to be doing it, which is really great. We’ve seen some good results because of it.” The only concern now, just like any other scattering virus, is the persistence of the variants that disperse from it. We have already seen the deadly Delta, and that may not be all, but over time these variants will hopefully become weaker. “We are going to continue to see variants,” Hogan-Soltys
said. “Because of immunity, herd immunity, vaccines and natural immunity after disease it becomes a more mild illness. In return we won’t see the hospitalizations and death rates that we have in the past.” With winter looming quite large and weather dipping well below comfortable, Alden Street’s desired and vouched for outdoor activities will be shifting to mainly indoor themed events. Hogan-Soltys fully believes Annie Warchol,
