Latest Updates - Page 11 of 31 - Coronavirus Response

Plans for Vaccination of Priority Group 3

On March 2, 2021

In Duke University, For Faculty, For Staff

Dear Colleagues,

The State of North Carolina has announced that individuals in the remainder of Group 3 (frontline essential workers who must be in-person at their place of work) will now be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations beginning this week.

For Duke, this means that approximately 600 faculty and staff who meet the Group 3 eligibility criteria will be invited to receive the vaccination this week, including all Duke housekeepers, dining staff, and faculty who are teaching face to face on-site. Other employees who meet the criteria for Group 3, such as researchers working in labs, teaching assistants, Student Affairs staff in student-facing roles, dining contract staff and staff supporting our on-site COVID support activities, will be invited for vaccination in the coming weeks, as supply becomes available.

The number of eligible individuals invited to get the vaccine each week will depend entirely upon the amount of vaccine allocated from the State to Duke Health. Supplies continue to be limited and will vary from week to week. Based on our experience with Duke Health staff, we expect that it could take as long as three months to provide vaccinations to all Duke University employees who are eligible in Group 3, and we ask for your patience as we move through this process.

As a reminder, the criteria for eligibility and the amount of vaccine available are both controlled by the State of North Carolina, not Duke University or Duke Health. The availability of the vaccine will continue to dictate how many and when eligible faculty and staff will be invited for vaccination. In addition, Duke Health is still prioritizing those individuals in Group 1 and Group 2 who have not yet received their vaccinations.

If you are eligible under Group 3, you can also sign up for vaccination at non-Duke hospitals, local public health departments, pharmacies and other providers, and we encourage you to explore these options as well.

While beginning to vaccinate faculty and staff on campus is an incredibly positive development and is one more way to protect our community, it is going to require patience and ongoing compliance with public health recommendation of wearing a mask, maintaining social distance, and frequent hand washing to keep everyone safe as we see our way to the end of this pandemic. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kyle Cavanaugh
Vice President, Administration

Carol Epling, MD, MSPH
Director, Employee Occupational Health and Wellness

Gail Shulby, RN, MA, CPPS
Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President, Duke Health

Cameron R. Wolfe, MBBS (Hons), MPH, FIDSA
Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Duke Health

Co-Leaders of the Duke COVID Vaccination Work Group

Testing Update: February 22-28, 2021

By Kristen Brown

On March 2, 2021

In Community Messages, Duke University, Testing & Reporting

Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing and contact tracing program administered 20,374 tests to 10,430 students and 2,771 tests to 1,513 faculty/staff for the period February 22-28 2021, with a total of 26 positive results.

Among students there were 22 positive results, primarily among graduate and professional students. Positive cases were identified through surveillance testing for asymptomatic students as well as tests for those exhibiting symptoms. The individuals who tested positive have been placed in isolation, while those identified as potential contacts have been placed in precautionary quarantine. The total positivity rate was 0.11%.

The full announcement of testing results is posted to Duke Today.

Testing data is also available on our Testing Tracker, which is updated every Tuesday.

Update on Duke Travel Policy COVID-19 Addendum

By Paul Grantham

On March 1, 2021

In Duke University, For Faculty, For Staff, For Students, Travel Updates

Dear Travel Policy Update listserv,

Thank you, to all of you who have reached out to share your questions, thoughts and feedback regarding travel. These are extraordinary times and keeping lines of communication open is more important than ever and has helped us to plan and anticipate needs better. We want to share with you an update on where things stand today for Duke’s travel policy.

The suspension put into place by the COVID-19 Addendum to Duke’s Global Travel Policy will be extended to August 8, 2021.

The specific criteria required for exceptions to this suspension to allow travel may be revised and possibly broadened if warranted by positive developments such as declining hospitalizations and wider distribution of vaccines. Any such revisions will be further specified and updated officially within the Addendum in mid- to late-March and will be available online at https://travel.duke.edu/travel-policy-and-covid-19-addendum. As with all travel at Duke, a significant change in the public health and safety environment can lead to a policy revision, with possible cancellations of travel and return of participants to their homes or Durham. The policies we outline here are subject to change at any time and such changes would be announced via this listserv and on the policy webpage noted above.

For Undergraduates: As stipulated in the January 28^th email from Provost Sally Kornbluth et. al., Duke support for undergraduate travel during the Summer of ’21 will be suspended. This suspension holds true for both individual students and programs, domestic as well as international, and regardless of whether the travel is for research, internships, fellowships, academic study or another purpose. Our fervent hope is that the outlook improves substantially so that support for some undergraduate travel can resume in the Fall of ’21.

For Graduate and Professional Students: The Duke Global Travel Policy and COVID-19 Addendum will remain in effect therefore, support for travel by Graduate/Professional students, both domestic and international, remains suspended. However, an avenue for individual students to apply for an exception via their “Top-Level Manager” (e.g., School Dean, Institute Director, etc.) does exist. At this point, most units, schools, and institutes have developed protocols under which a Graduate/Professional Student and/or their Faculty Advisor/Grant PI can apply for an exception which if granted would allow for travel to proceed. (If you need help identifying who to turn to regarding travel within your unit, please reach out for assistance.)

As has been the case throughout the Academic Year, the decision-maker, faculty/PI or individual Graduate/Professional student can request a review of proposed travel by the COVID-19 Travel Sub-Committee of the Provost’s Global Travel Advisory Committee (GTAC) for input and advice on the safety and security of the planned travel and activity. The COVID-19 Sub-Committee’s review and recommendation is not mandatory for Graduate/Professional Student travel. The ultimate decision for the exception lies with the leadership of the school/institute that will be supporting the travel. If the supporting unit is different than the student’s home school/institute, approval must be secured from both the supporting unit’s leadership and the home school/institute’s leadership. For example, if a Nicholas School of the Environment (NSOE) Grad student has research funded by a Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) grant, the student needs approval from both the leaderships of NSOE and DGHI for the travel to proceed.

For Faculty, Staff and Others such as Post-Docs, Fellows, etc.: The Duke Global Travel Policy and COVID-19 Addendum will remain in effect, and exceptions to the travel suspension can be granted by “Top-Level Managers.” The decision-maker can request the COVID-19 Sub-Committee’s review and recommendation on the safety and security of the proposed travel and activity.

For all travelers: Students, Faculty, Staff and others must remit a copy of approval for travel to the COVID-19 Travel Sub-Committee and individuals must enter their personal and trip details into the Duke Travel Registry.

A note to decision-makers: As stated above, we are working with senior leadership to refine the decision-criteria to aide in granting exceptions for academic and research-related travel for Faculty, Staff, and Graduate/Professional Students. We will have more specific guidance on this in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. We also plan to host an online Travel Forum sometime in late-March or early-April once the policy changes have been formally announced. Please watch for the invitation to this forum in the coming weeks.

Kindest regards,

Eric Mlyn, Chair, Global Travel Advisory Committee and
Christy Parrish, Travel Policy Administrator

Update on Gatherings, Events, and Remote Work

By Kristen Brown

On February 25, 2021

In Community Messages, Duke University, For Faculty, For Staff, For Students

Dear Duke University Faculty, Staff and Students,

While Governor Roy Cooper announced an executive order on Wednesday that eases restrictions on gatherings in North Carolina, Duke will maintain its current policy of limiting in-person gatherings other than scheduled classes and approved student activities to 10 persons, 6’ social distanced, masked, and neither food nor beverages consumed.

We are also maintaining our policy regarding events. No in-person events hosted, sponsored or paid for by Duke will be permitted to take place off-campus, both in Durham and elsewhere in or outside the U.S.

While we have seen progress in recent weeks with a decline in positive cases among students, faculty and staff, we are also at a critical juncture. We have seen several instances of policy violations in the last week that have led to additional positive cases. We understand and empathize with the “pandemic fatigue” everyone is experiencing, but we must continue to remain strong for one another to ensure we can complete the semester as planned.

Because the majority faculty and staff are not likely to be vaccinated until later this summer, most university staff should continue to work remotely through the end of May, unless you are specifically designated to return to Duke facilities. Having fewer people on-site continues to be the best way to reduce the potential spread of this virus and protect our campus and community.

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to follow public health guidance to protect yourselves, your loved ones and the broader community. We have continued to accomplish extraordinary things despite the pandemic, and we will come out stronger together on the other side.

Sincerely,

Kyle Cavanaugh,
Vice President, Administration

Testing Update: February 15-21, 2021

By Kristen Brown

On February 23, 2021

In Community Messages, Duke University, Testing & Reporting

Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing and contact tracing program administered 18,977 tests to 9,577 students and 2,712 tests to 1,436 faculty/staff for the period Feb. 15-21 with a total of 25 positive results.

Among students there were 11 positive results, identified through surveillance testing for asymptomatic students as well as tests for those exhibiting symptoms. The individuals who tested positive have been placed in isolation, while those identified as potential contacts have been placed in precautionary quarantine. The total positivity rate was 0.12 percent.

The full announcement of testing results is posted to Duke Today.

Testing data is also available on our Testing Tracker, which is updated every Tuesday.

Cluster of COVID-19 Cases Reported from Birthday Party

By Paul Grantham

On February 22, 2021

In Community Messages, Duke University, For Faculty, For Staff, For Students

Duke has identified a cluster of COVID-19 cases related to recent travel and attendance at a birthday party on Feb. 15 at an off-campus apartment. A “cluster” is defined by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as five or more related cases that are deemed to be in close proximity of time and location, such as a residential hall or apartment complex. 

Testing Update: February 8-14, 2021

By Kristen Brown

On February 16, 2021

In Community Messages, Duke University, Testing & Reporting

Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing and contact tracing program administered 19,929 tests to 10,447 students and 2,809 tests to 1,524 faculty/staff for the period Feb. 8–14 with a total of 20 positive results.

Among students there were 13 positive results, identified through surveillance testing for asymptomatic students as well as tests for those exhibiting symptoms. The individuals who tested positive have been placed in isolation, while those identified as potential contacts have been placed in precautionary quarantine. The total positivity rate was 0.09 percent.

The full announcement of testing results is posted to Duke Today.

Testing data is also available on our Testing Tracker, which is updated every Tuesday.

State Updates Prioritization Plans for COVID-19 Vaccination

By Paul Grantham

On February 10, 2021

In Duke University, For Faculty, For Staff

Dear University Faculty and Staff,

The State of North Carolina announced today that kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and support staff will become eligible for vaccination beginning Feb. 24. This group does not include college instructors or support staff.

The state indicated that beginning March 10 other essential workers in Group 3, including college instructors, food workers, custodians, clergy, law enforcement and security officers, and transit workers who are required to be physically present in the workplace to perform their job responsibilities and be in close contact with others on a regular basis as a part of their responsibilities will be eligible for vaccination.

The COVID Vaccination Work Group will work to determine which faculty and staff are included in Group 3. Duke Employee Occupational Health and Wellness will send eligible individuals direct email invitation after the state authorizes the scheduling of vaccination appointments.

As a reminder, the State of North Carolina allocates all vaccines to providers like Duke and the supply has been very limited. Last week, Duke Health received about 4,000 doses, but there are more than 50,000 individuals in Groups 1 and 2 who are on the waitlist for Duke Health. We expect it will take some time to complete vaccination of these groups.

We have seen a steady decline in the number of COVID-19 cases among students, faculty and staff in recent weeks. We are grateful for your efforts to help change the trajectory of the virus’ spread on campus. We must remain vigilant in wearing a mask, maintaining six feet of distance from others, avoiding gatherings of people, and washing our hands regularly to ensure this positive trend continues. These safeguards apply even if you have been vaccinated already. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kyle Cavanaugh
Vice President, Administration

Carol Epling, MD, MSP
Director, Employee Occupational Health and Wellness

Gail Shulby, RN, MA, CPP
Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President, Duke Health

Cameron R. Wolfe, MBBS (Hons), MPH, FIDS
Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Duke Health

Co-Leaders of the Duke COVID Vaccination Work Group

Testing Update: February 1-7, 2021

By Kristen Brown

On February 9, 2021

In Community Messages, Duke University, Testing & Reporting

Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing and contact tracing program administered 20,020 tests to 10,434* students and 2,839 tests to 1,593 faculty/staff for the period Feb. 1-7, with a total of 56 positive results.

Among students there were 40 positive results, identified through surveillance testing for asymptomatic students as well as tests for those exhibiting symptoms and one final baseline/gateway test. The individuals who tested positive have been placed in isolation, while those identified as potential contacts have been placed in precautionary quarantine. The total positivity rate was 0.24 percent.

The full announcement of testing results is posted to Duke Today.

Testing data is also available on our Testing Tracker, which is updated every Tuesday.

*This number has been corrected; we inadvertently included the total number of individuals tested (12,027) instead of the number of individual students tested in the initial post.

Cluster of COVID-19 Cases Reported from Birthday Party

By Paul Grantham

On February 8, 2021

In Duke University, For Faculty, For Staff, For Students

Duke has identified a cluster of COVID-19 cases related to attendance of birthday party at an off-campus apartment. A “cluster” is defined by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as five or more related cases that are deemed to be in close proximity of time and location, such as a residential hall or apartment complex. 

See full article on Duke Today.