March 1, 2021
Dear Tulane Community:
Thanks to your continued adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols, including social distancing, face coverings, good hand hygiene and frequent testing, we have encouraging news to report. Our COVID-19 positivity rate, which has long remained well below that of the city’s and state’s, has held steady at a low to moderate rate for several weeks. Maintaining such a level of positive COVID cases in our community allows us to lower our Action Alert Level to yellow and reduce some restrictions and increase activities, including the following:
Testing
COVID-19 testing will be reduced to two times per week for undergrads. This is still a higher testing frequency than nearly all universities in the country; but we believe is necessary to ensure we maintain and continue the progress we have made so far.
Residence Hall visitation
Effective Wednesday, March 3, each student will be allowed to host one Tulane student visitor (on- or off-campus), from within our testing program, at their residence halls during the following times:
- Sun-Thurs: noon to 11 p.m.
- Fri-Sat: noon to 1 a.m.
Campus Recreation
Effective Wednesday, March 3, the basketball courts will now be made available in the Reily Student Recreation Center for Tulane students only. Students must wear masks while playing. To participate in games, register here.
Gathering Sizes
As was shared in an update last week from the dean of students, the city has adjusted gathering size limitations.
- Indoor gatherings may now be as large as 75 people; but note – the wearing of face coverings and 6 ft social distancing must still be strictly enforced. The need to maintain social distance may reduce the capacity possible and/or spaces available.
- Outdoor gatherings may be as large as 150 people, but again, you must wear face coverings and be able to maintain 6 ft between every participant.
- Private gatherings/parties, like those you would host in your house, cannot be this large. No one should host an event in which the people attending cannot be socially distanced. This means that you should limit indoor private events to no more than 10-15 people and outdoor (backyard) types of events to no more than 25-30. If you have questions about a private event you’d like to host, you can contact the Dean of Students Office at 504-314-2160.
- Table sizes at restaurants may be as large as 15 people.
Vaccines for undergraduates
In accordance with state requirements, we are not yet vaccinating students. When the state has approved student vaccinations, there will be an announcement via email.
While we are pleased to announce these reduced restrictions, COVID-19, and its variants, remain a major public health threat. To protect the health of ourselves and others, everyone – including those who have been vaccinated – must continue to strictly follow public health requirements, including social distancing, wearing face coverings, washing hands and complying with campus testing frequency and crowd limits both on and off-campus.
Your hard work in following safety protocols is working and we urge you to continue your efforts. We hope that the easing of the restrictions stated above, and the return of some activities will continue to improve the overall university experience, increase opportunities for socialization and give us all hope for better days ahead.
Robin Forman, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Patrick Norton, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
