February 28, 2020

To Marist Students:

We write with further updates to College policy and guidelines on the rapidly changing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. As you know from previous communications, senior leadership at Marist has been actively engaged in monitoring developments hourly with the goal to protect the health and safety of community members in all Marist locations and to keep everyone well-informed.  We have set up a dedicated webpage to make it easier for you to access official updates.

The College is following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in setting policy for the Marist community on this issue. We want to emphasize there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus at Marist at this time, but we continue to approach this evolving situation with an abundance of caution.

It is with this in mind that the College is strongly recommending and encouraging you to be prudent in your travel choices—now—and during the upcoming spring break. This is a rapidly changing situation. This epidemic and how it is affecting travel across Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world is evolving.

• As countries are evaluating travel into and out of their regions, limitations and bans are being put into effect, often with little or no prior warning. Please consider both your departure and your return when traveling to countries currently under watch for coronavirus. To stay updated on these designations by country, please see the CDC’s travel notices, which can be found here.
• Please be aware that because travel advisories can change quickly, if there is a change to the travel warnings while you are away, you will be subject to the strictest interpretation of the suggested policies in order to limit the risk of spread to the Marist community.
• Individuals who embark on personal travel to or through Level 3 countries (currently China and South Korea) will be subject to the U.S.’s screening procedures, which may include a 14-day quarantine upon return to the U.S. Any individual in this category may not come to any Marist location until 14 days after returning to U.S. and exhibiting no signs of illness. We continue to urge members of the campus community to follow and review the latest health information if planning a trip abroad. We recommend exercising extreme caution in traveling to countries with Level 2 (currently Italy, Japan and Iran) designations.
• Given the fluid nature of this situation, the College recommends all members of the community reconsider international travel. Out of an abundance of caution, if you are exhibiting symptoms of illness within 14 days of returning to the U.S. following any international travel, you must obtain written medical clearance before returning to any Marist location.  This clearance will need to be submitted to Student Health Services.

If you decide not to travel during spring recess, and cannot travel home, please contact the Housing Office. Marist College will be glad to accommodate your request to stay in your campus residence for the week.

According to the CDC, the best preventative guidelines are: 

• Avoid contact with sick people.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Clean your hands often by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Soap and water should be used if hands are visibly dirty.
• It is especially important to clean hands after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.

The CDC’s full guidelines can be found in this fact sheet. Information about symptoms can be found here. For detailed information about the coronavirus, visit the CDC’s coronavirus FAQ webpage.

Questions related to health or healthcare should be directed to medical professionals; any students on the Poughkeepsie campus with questions or concerns may contact Health Services (845) 575-3270. Health Services previously issued information to students regarding signs and symptoms of illness; that information can be found here.

The College also recognizes that the consistent news about coronavirus may increase feelings of stress and feeling overwhelmed. This is a very normal reaction and being aware of it and taking care of yourself is very important.  If you are experiencing symptoms of stress (not sleeping, constant worry, loss of appetite, etc.), please contact the Counseling Center. In addition, this link has some information and tips on how to manage stress.

The College will continue to monitor this situation closely. We ask that you visit our coronavirus webpage for updates. If you have questions, please contact response@marist.edu.

Deborah DiCaprio, Vice President of Student Affairs

Thomas Wermuth, Vice President of Academic Affairs