Welcome to Campus; COVID Updates
Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community,
I write today to welcome you to a new academic year and to update you on our COVID strategies for the fall, including vaccine requirements, testing and masking, reporting and travel. The COVID Coordination Team, alongside university leadership and with the support of University Health Services and Allegheny Health Network experts, has been monitoring COVID conditions and metrics throughout the pandemic, including the recent rise in cases in Allegheny County. As conditions change, we will balance making decisions using the most information available and providing timely, research-based guidance to our arriving students and wider community. We look forward to the launch of the new year as we welcome our newest graduate students on Monday.
The COVID-19 Updates pages will continue to be your best resource for up-to-date guidance on our posture. Some important information to note:
Vaccine Requirements
Full series vaccination and booster, when eligible, continue to be required. Documentation must be uploaded to fulfill this requirement or an exception must be requested and granted. Vaccine clinics and resources are available at various times on campus and in locations in the Pittsburgh region. If you have not done so already, make sure to upload your latest vaccine and booster information to stay current.
Testing and Masking
While testing is not required at this time, you are encouraged to regularly do so to protect community health. Tartan Testing is available by appointment.
Currently, facial coverings are strongly encouraged but not required outside or indoors, unless designated by location.
Additionally, antigen test kits and masks are available free of charge from campus vending machines.
Travel
If you plan to travel, check the recommendations and requirements for locations both to and from which you are traveling. Current guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you take a COVID-19 test before you travel and upon your return. Protect yourself and others and wear a face mask when on public transportation. See CDC’s travelers’ health resources for more information.
Symptoms and Positive Tests
People with COVID-19 may have no symptoms, mild symptoms, or severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2–10 days after having been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 10 days.
Some of you may be familiar with emailing CHWB@andrew.cmu.edu for guidance regarding your symptoms or positive test. You are no longer required to report symptoms, but are welcome to continue to reach out to seek advice regarding those symptoms.
Beginning now, reporting positive COVID cases will transition from email exchanges to a Google form-based system that provides automated, individualized guidance via email. The guidance will include dates of isolation and instructions, clearance instructions, and information regarding how to notify close contacts.
See the Symptoms & Reporting page for more information on this new process and self-reporting links.
We will continue to monitor indicators, and must be prepared to pivot if circumstances warrant change. In that event, our team will revise the COVID-19 Updates pages with information about the change in posture and how that impacts our community. In addition, I will send an email message to the campus community and campus signage will change to reflect our current conditions and posture.
I have confidence in Carnegie Mellon’s mitigation plan and the expertise that has informed it, and we each have a role to play in our success. Our collective actions on and off campus not only impact CMU but the Pittsburgh community at large. With this spirit of cooperation, I know we will take this semester from a strong start to a strong finish.
Sincerely,
Stan Waddell
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
COVID-19 Coordinator