Duke has launched a new website with information and FAQ about the COVID vaccine for faculty, staff, and students. Covidvaccine.Duke.edu will have the most up to date information about distribution of the vaccine to members of the Duke community.
The message below is being sent to all Duke undergraduate students.
Friday, December 18, 2020
Dear students,
We hope you are having a safe and restorative Winter Break so far, wherever you are this year. Over the break, our teams in Student Affairs and in Undergraduate Education and others at Duke are hard at work preparing for the spring semester. We are excited to again support your Duke experience whether you plan to be here in Durham or tp participate remotely.
For those of you who are away now and planning to return to campus or the area: there are a number of things you will need to do both before and upon your arrival at Duke, whether you are living on campus or off campus.
If you are planning to return to campus or the Durham area this spring, please read in full the important information below on pre-arrival testing, quarantining before returning to campus, entry testing, and other health guidance.
As you have heard us say many times before, Duke is closely monitoring public health conditions as well as state and local regulations so all of these plans are subject to change on short notice. As you prepare for the spring semester, it is important to plan ahead as much as possible to be prepared should the situation shift.
Spring semester will certainly look different than previous years. But, as President Price shared in his message, the extraordinary dedication of our students, staff and faculty helped all of us at Duke keep each other safer this fall. Please join us in renewing our shared commitment to protecting the health and wellbeing of the entire Duke community. We’re still in this together, and we look forward to seeing you on campus soon.
Thank you for your attention to this information, and best wishes for a healthy and restorative holiday and winter break.
Go Duke,
Gary Bennett, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education
Mary Pat McMahon, Vice Provost of Student Affairs
BEFORE YOU TRAVEL TO DURHAM
Self-Quarantine
Following public health guidance, we are asking that all students travelling to the Durham area in January observe 10 days of quarantine prior to their travels. During quarantine, you should limit your contact to immediate household members, take care to observe social distancing, wear face coverings if you must be outside the home, and wash your hands frequently. Quarantining is a proven strategy to minimize the likelihood of a widespread outbreak when students arrive to start the spring semester.
Pre-Arrival Testing
Students who are returning to Durham from other locations are STRONGLY encouraged to take a COVID test within five days of your arrival to Durham; check local and state public health resources to find out what might be available in your area. This means if you will arrive in Durham on January 16, you should get tested between January 11-15 and wait to travel to campus until you receive your result. Though voluntary, this precaution is one more way to help protect the Duke and Durham communities. Please note that pre-arrival testing is encouraged in addition to entry testing (also referred to as gateway testing) once you arrive in Durham.
Please report any positive results to Student Health through Duke MyChart and observe isolation protocols BEFORE you return to Durham. If you are in quarantine due to exposure to others with COVID-19, please inform Student Health. YOU SHOULD NOT RETURN TO CAMPUS OR DURHAM UNTIL YOUR QUARANTINE OR ISOLATION PERIOD HAS ENDED AND YOU ARE SYMPTOM-FREE. If you are in isolation and cannot return to campus at the designated time, please email keeplearning@duke.edu, contact Student Health and your academic dean.
Proof of Previous Diagnosis
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 3 months (October, November, or December 2020), you must still sign up for an entry testing slot, although you do not need to be tested. You should bring a hard copy of your test report with you to Penn Pavilion or submit your report through Duke MyChart. You may receive additional instructions from Student Health about your arrival procedure and screening testing if you have previously tested positive for COVID-19.
WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN DURHAM
Entry Testing
All students who will be living on campus or who plan to be on campus for any reason and any length of time this spring are required to participate in entry testing upon their arrival in Durham. Please note that your DukeCard will not be activated until you complete entry testing.
Entry testing for undergraduate students will take place in Penn Pavilion from Thursday, January 14, to Wednesday, January 20, 2021, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST each day. Extended testing hours, until 6 p.m., will be offered on January 15 and January 20. There will be no testing on Monday, January 18.
You must register for a testing slot in advance of your arrival. Registration is now open. Please be sure to register for your testing slot by FRIDAY, JANUARY 8. We encourage you to plan your travel around your confirmed testing time; please do NOT just show up to Penn Pavilion without having a confirmed testing slot.
Further details on entry testing, including parking details and on-site procedures, will be shared later.
If you are living on campus this spring:
On-campus and Duke-provided housing will open on Friday, January 15. Please follow the link above to sign up for a testing slot ON THE DAY OF YOUR MOVE-IN, NOT in the days prior. Students will not have access to their residence until they complete their entry test.
If you are living elsewhere in or around Durham this spring:
Undergraduate students who are living elsewhere in Durham (not in Duke-provided housing) this spring will need to be tested BY JANUARY 20 to have their DukeCard activated in time for the start of classes.
If you remained on campus over break:
Students who remained on campus over Winter Break will participate in entry testing in early January. Please pay close attention to your email for further instructions on when and how to sign up for your testing slot.
Post-Arrival Sequester Period
After entry testing, all students are required to sequester in their residence hall or off-campus home until they receive a negative COVID-19 test result. Test results will be made available through Duke MyChart, likely 36–48 hours after testing. While awaiting your test results, students are expected to limit any unnecessary movement and activity outside of their room, and should avoid other students and staff during this time.
Any students who test positive will receive isolation instructions, under the care of Duke clinicians, and will participate in contact tracing, which is used to identify any other potential positive cases.
PLANNING AHEAD
While we hope this would not happen, public health conditions may require the university to implement a shelter-in-place status, shift to remote-only instruction, or ask you to isolate or quarantine based on your individual circumstance. We don’t say this to alarm anyone—in fact, just the opposite. Simple steps such as maintaining a stock of non-perishable food and water in your room or apartment, ensuring you have needed course materials with you whether in Durham or elsewhere, and having any important items you may need on hand (such as medications, etc.) enable you to adapt to changing conditions. We urge all students to plan for these types of scenarios.
In addition, we will still have policies this spring that limit gatherings, especially indoors and especially while eating. It will be colder in North Carolina, but YOU SHOULD PLAN TO SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. Come prepared with warm long sleeve layers, a coat, gloves, and a hat, and let finaid@duke.edu know if you need information or financial support to get what you might need.
Other aspects of fall pandemic life on campus will resume in the spring semester. Undergraduates can expect to be surveillance tested at least twice per week once they return to campus. Symptom monitoring will also continue, with all students and staff filling out their daily symptom monitoring report in order to be cleared to access campus that day. Everyone on campus will be required to wear face masks and maintain distancing. And all students will still be united by their commitment to the Duke Compact, and each other.
While Duke Health has begun to vaccinate health care personnel per CDC recommendations, we do not anticipate that the vaccine will be available to most students or university staff this spring. Students with underlying medical conditions that put them at risk for severe COVID-19 illness should contact Student Health to discuss potential eligibility for early vaccination.
This email was sent to all Duke students, faculty, and staff
Dear Duke Colleagues,
This holiday season, we are grateful for the many ways that our community has come together to support one another and look toward an even brighter future.
We are grateful to our health care providers and frontline workers for keeping us safe and allowing us to continue our missions of teaching, learning, and discovery. We are grateful for the remarkable launch of the COVID-19 vaccine this week and proud of Duke’s role in it. We are grateful to all of our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors who worked tirelessly and selflessly over the last year to make our fall semester a success.
The holidays also offer a moment for quiet reflection—and resolve. We are now in the midst of a deeply concerning surge of COVID-19 across the country and around the world. Now more than ever, we must continue to observe public health guidelines to protect our health and safety, and that of our families, friends, and fellow Blue Devils. Even in this holiday season, that means wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, avoiding social gatherings, and washing our hands.
In the new year, we look forward to welcoming our students back to campus for the spring semester. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students will soon receive specific details with regards to academic programs, living arrangements, food service, access to campus facilities, health and safety protocols, testing, and limitations on gatherings. And while we expect that the spring semester will look much like the fall, it is important to remember that all our plans are dynamic and subject to change on short notice depending on current conditions and the guidance from Duke medical experts, public health officials, and state and local government directives.
I thank you for all you’ve done to lift our community in this most unusual and challenging of years and wish you all safe and peaceful holidays and brighter days in the New Year. Warmest wishes from everyone at Duke.
Sincerely,
Vincent E. Price
President
The Office of Durham and Community Affairs has posted answers to some of the most commonly asked questions from our neighbors on their site.
- When is winter break?
- When will students return to Durham?
- Can neighbors still report student behavior to Duke during break?
- Were there any outcomes from reports that were submitted during the Fall semester?
- Is Duke continuing to test students during the break?
- What are the behavior expectations for students?
- How do we know Duke’s safety protocols are successful?
- Has Duke’s policy about living on campus changed?
Read the questions and answers at the website of the Office of Durham and Community Affairs.
The following email was sent to University staff members whose DukeCards will be deactivated daily at midnight until they complete symptom monitoring each day. Certain groups have been excluded, including staff with the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, Duke University Police, and staff covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Dear Duke University Staff Member,
Tracking COVID-19 symptoms remains a critical step to limiting the spread of the virus and keeping our community safe. As you know, University staff who wish to gain access to Duke facilities are required to complete the daily symptom survey before arriving on-site. At midnight each day, DukeCard access will reset to an inactive status, prohibiting access to buildings. In order to re-activate access, you must complete the daily symptom monitoring. Once the survey is completed, access should be restored within seconds (up to a minute).
When to complete symptom monitoring survey: Starting Tuesday, Dec. 15, you will need to complete symptom monitoring each day before your DukeCard will be activated to access Duke facilities. Your DukeCard will return to inactive status at midnight each day. Once symptom monitoring is complete, access will be restored for the day.
Accessing the symptom monitoring survey: The SymMon mobile app is the preferred and easiest way to record symptoms and is available for free through the Apple app store or Google Play. For step-by-step instructions on how to complete the survey visit the Return to Duke website. Symptoms can also be recorded using the RedCAP system through a web browser or through a phone-based automated voice response system.
Getting notifications: Setup the in-app alert to receive daily notifications. Click on the gear icon in the lower right-hand corner of the SymMon app. Turn on the Symptom Monitoring Reminders by tapping the toggle switch. For more information about app features, watch the Symptom Monitoring app tutorial video.
Troubleshooting: You can check the status of your DukeCard. A green access status indicates door access is working. If you run into difficulty with the app or DukeCard access, contact the OIT Service Desk at 919-684-2200.
Kyle Cavanaugh,
Vice President, Administration
The message is being sent to all Duke undergraduate students.
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Dear undergraduate students,
We hope you are healthy, safe, and well, and are enjoying Winter Break so far, wherever you may be. We are writing with the last conduct update of the fall semester.
First, the big picture: Duke students and organizations successfully adapted to the COVID policies and expectations for fall semester. The Office of Student Conduct, the SpeakUp line, and the Housing and Residential Life teams received over 1,300 student conduct reports, but the vast majority of these reports concerned minor infractions of our COVID policies. Over 500 incidents were resolved through warnings or educational conversations and our recidivism rate—in which students or groups were involved in more than one alleged violation—was miniscule. Our undergraduate student community made countless decisions each day which led to our cumulative success in protecting the health and wellbeing of our community. Thank you!
COMPLIANCE AND CONDUCT UPDATES
As we have noted in previous messages, the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) conducts a thorough review of all allegations against students and organizations. If students are found responsible, sanctions depend on the severity of the violations and students’ prior disciplinary history. Since August 7, OSC has taken the following actions:
- 517 — Students referred for educational interventions for less severe infractions of the Duke Compact — these outcomes are not part of a student’s disciplinary record.
- 190 — Individual sanctions implemented by either the Office of Student Conduct or Housing and Residence Life. These actions may become a part of the student’s conduct record and in some cases reportable to graduate schools, study away programs, employers, and other university programs in which a student’s disciplinary record may be a factor in participation.
- 5 — Campus organizations placed on interim suspension.
- 27 — Administrative Action Hearings held for flagrant violations of COVID policy expectations and the Duke Compact. Flagrant violations include: hosting gatherings, failing to follow quarantine and isolation protocols to protect fellow students, and repeated violations of COVID expectations.
- 3 — Student Conduct Board hearings which have resulted in suspension of one semester or more, along with other varying sanctions. In these cases, some students will be unable to enroll (remotely or in person) in the spring semester.
COVID REMINDERS
COVID rates in Durham and in so many other places are as high as they’ve been at any time during the pandemic, and we must all continue to do our part to help prevent spread in our communities. Over break, please continue to observe all the safety guidelines you’ve become accustomed to this fall—wear a mask, wash your hands often, practice physical distancing, limit close contacts. Find more guidance on safer holiday breaks.
COVID doesn’t take holidays, and neither should you.
We hope that you and your families and friends continue to be safe and well. Have a restful and restorative break.
Thank you and go Duke,
Gary G. Bennett
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Mary Pat McMahon
Vice Provost for Student Affairs
Dear Duke Health and Duke University colleagues and staff:
The FDA is planning to review the interim safety and efficacy data for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on December 10th and the Moderna vaccine on December 17th as part of the process to consider COVID-19 vaccines for an emergency use authorization. We anticipate that the FDA could move quickly so we are preparing for an expected early shipment of the Pfizer vaccine to Duke, along with final guidance from the FDA, later this month.
Based on guidelines developed by the state, Duke healthcare workers who are most likely to be exposed to COVID-19 (also known as SARS-CoV-2) in the course of fulfilling their job responsibilities will be among the first group eligible to receive a vaccine. This includes employees in both clinical and research areas.
Read the full message that was sent to all Duke Health and Duke University faculty and staff on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020.
The following message was sent to all university students, faculty and staff on Nov. 24, 2020.
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
Duke has for many months required a mask or face covering in all outdoor settings where social distancing measures cannot be maintained and at all times in shared spaces indoors.
Now it’s required across the state at all times.
A new executive order issued by Governor Cooper requires face covering be worn indoors and outdoors across the state. Law enforcement officers may now cite individuals who fail to wear face coverings, as well as businesses or organizations that fail to enforce the requirement.
The order includes the use of face coverings in outdoor areas where it is not possible to consistently be physically distant by more than six feet, including when exercising outdoors or indoors with non-household members.
On Duke property, this includes all indoor recreational facilities, as well as outdoor areas such as the Al Buehler and East Campus trails, the Duke golf course, Duke Forest, and other areas where people congregate. Student-athletes are excluded from the requirement while playing or practicing.
The order, which remains in effect through Dec. 11, 2020, was issued to help address the rapid increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations in North Carolina. A number of counties across the state are seeing health care systems strained by the increase in COVID cases and infection rates are rising in virtually every county.
Duke has been fortunate and successful this semester thanks to the hard work and vigilance of our students, faculty and staff. We strongly encourage you to apply the same vigilance as you celebrate the Thanksgiving and the winter holidays so we can, once again, be Duke United.
Kyle Cavanaugh,
Vice President, Administration
In the last full week of the Fall semester, Duke University’s comprehensive COVID-19 testing program received results from 15,532 tests administered to students and faculty/staff from November 14-20, 2020. In total, there were 24 positive results – five undergraduate students, eight graduate/professional students, and eleven faculty/staff, six of whom have been working remotely and have not been on campus. The positivity rate was 0.15 percent.
Duke’s rigorous testing and public health protocols were cited in a recent CDC publication and have been widely noted in the media as a model for keeping infections on campus low. In addition to adhering to the dynamic testing protocols, Duke students, faculty, and staff upheld the Duke Compact and followed public health guidelines to keep the campus safe.
Since the start of the program on Aug. 2, Duke has completed 178,084 tests.
The announcement of testing results is posted to Duke Today.
Testing data is also available on our Testing Tracker.
With the conclusion of the fall semester, this will be the last full testing report for 2020.
This email was sent to all Duke University faculty and staff on Saturday, November 21, 2020
Dear Colleagues,
As we come to the end of a successful fall semester of teaching, learning and research, we are making plans for the spring semester that will be based on the latest projections for the spread of COVID-19, ongoing mitigation strategies and the eventual distribution of a vaccine
Unfortunately, we should expect that the current surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations will continue for the next several months and will place greater stress on our community and health care system. And while there is very optimistic news about vaccines, we also know they will not be widely available to faculty, staff and students until late spring or early summer 2021.
As a result, most university staff should continue to work remotely through the spring semester 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.
All students who return for the spring semester in January will be tested for COVID-19 on arrival, as was the case in the fall. We will then resume surveillance testing of students and those faculty and staff working in Duke facilities. Anyone who is cleared to work in Duke facilities must continue to complete daily symptom monitoring, wear a mask, and practice physical distancing of at least 6 feet, where possible. Additional supplies of reusable cloth face masks will be distributed through the Return to the Workforce Coordinators for each school and department in January 2021.
Thank you for your ongoing support in helping Duke respond to the unique challenges from the pandemic. We hope you enjoy a much deserved and needed break during the upcoming holidays.
Kyle Cavanaugh,
Vice President, Administration
Jennifer Francis,
Executive Vice Provost