January 7, 2021
To the community,
This afternoon, we became aware of a cluster of three undergraduate students in the Dartmouth community who have tested positive for COVID-19. These students, who are living off campus, are in isolation, resting comfortably, and receiving medical care and support.
Dartmouth is working with both the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the Vermont Department of Health as part of a contact tracing investigation to identify and quarantine anyone who was in close contact with the students in the two days prior to the onset of their symptoms or notice of their positive test results. This message is being sent to the campus community pursuant to Dartmouth's emergency notice procedures and/or the emergency notification requirements under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act.
New Hampshire identifies an outbreak as a cluster of cases comprising three or more people identified as having active COVID-19 as a result of a case investigation and contact tracing or three or more patients with the virus who are discovered to be linked with the linkage established outside of a case investigation and contact tracing.
As a reminder, there are many ways that you can help to reduce the transmission of the virus:
* Remember to take the Temperature and Self-Assessment (TSA) screening every day if you are working or living on-site. * Maintain 6-foot physical distancing and avoid large group gatherings, respecting group limits. * Restrict your travel to within the Upper Valley. * Discourage any visitors from coming to campus. * Wash your hands regularly, use hand sanitizer, and cough and sneeze into a tissue or your arm. * Wear a mask wherever you go.
For more information regarding virus transmission prevention and COVID-19, please visit the Dartmouth COVID-19 website at https://covid.dartmouth.edu, where Dartmouth also continues to publicly post information about our case count and ongoing virus testing results daily on the COVID-19 dashboard.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lisa Adams
Josh Keniston
Dartmouth COVID-19 Task Force Co-chairs