Dear Marist Students,

Our COVID-19 dashboard has been updated to alert level green, indicating on-campus virus prevalence is low and transmission controlled. This is a huge accomplishment and you should be proud. We should continue to be vigilant, maintain all necessary health protocols and precautions, and continue to increase our community-wide vaccination rate. If our COVID-19 numbers continue to remain low we are considering lifting additional restrictions to on-campus activities by the end of the week.

On-campus activities under consideration for Friday, April 30:

• Registration could potentially open for indoor intramural activities through IMLeagues.com.
• Recreational outdoor basketball could be permissible with a mask mandate on the court.
• Potential for increased capacity for fitness centers, but not to exceed New York State’s 33 percent limit.
  • McCann and McCormick Hall Fitness Centers are now open at 25 percent capacity. Sign up for a workout time at IMLeagues.com.
• Potential for increased capacity for indoor dining in the main dining hall.
• Potential for additional in-person fitness classes such as yoga, Zumba, and other inherently socially distant fitness and recreational activities.
• Students residing in campus housing could be permitted to visit with one another, including students from different residence facilities, provided that gathering size limits are followed and masks are worn. Off-campus guests, including commuter students, are still not permitted within any campus residence facility. Click here to view all of the visitation policies in the COVID-19 Code of Student Conduct Addendum. At this time, students can gather with students from other residence halls outdoors or in the dining hall.

COVID-19 Vaccinations:
The most important step each individual can take to facilitate our campus reopening is getting vaccinated—and will be critical to end of semester activities such as commencement exercises. Vaccination prevents serious illness and death and protects those in vulnerable populations. It is also our best chance to eliminate the virus from our community by achieving herd immunity. There are many websites you can use to register for vaccine appointments. These links can help:

• Poughkeepsie: Dutchess Community College has doses of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine available on Wednesday, April 28: https://apps2.health.ny.gov/doh2/applinks/cdmspr/2/counties?DateID=C0E3357B8E540514E0530A6C7C16FC72
• New York: Visit New York State’s vaccination site am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov to schedule an off-campus appointment.
• New York: Register for COVID-19 vaccination updates from Dutchess County and be notified when there is an appointment available at specific off-campus locations: dutchessny.gov/vaccineinfoform.
• New Jersey: Visit New Jersey's vaccination site: covid19.nj.gov/pages/covid-19-vaccine-locations-for-eligible-recipients to book an appointment.
• Connecticut: Visit Connecticut's vaccine portal: covidvaccinefinder.ct.gov to book an appointment.
• All Off-Campus Locations: Utilize Vaccine Finder, a centralized, searchable database, to track vaccine availability at pharmacies, health care providers, and municipalities across the United States.

If you have been vaccinated, don’t forget to upload your proof of vaccination after each dose to marist.medicatconnect.com. If you were vaccinated at 51 Fulton Street on April 13, April 15, or April 20, AND voluntarily swiped your Marist ID, no additional action is needed. Uploading your data will provide Marist with an accurate count of fully vaccinated students and allow us to make additional data-informed decisions moving forward.

What You Can Continue to Do to Help:

• If you have any symptoms, no matter how slight, please self-quarantine and get a COVID-19 test as soon as possible. Contact Health Services for an assessment and help with arranging a test if you are symptomatic. DO NOT go to surveillance testing if you have symptoms.
• Continue to practice social distancing, good personal hygiene, and wear masks at all times.
• Double mask, as this is known to offer increased protection for the mask wearers and others. To double mask, wear a multilayered cloth mask over a surgical mask.
• Protect your roommates, team members, and loved ones by minimizing contact with others outside of your living situation. If you may have been exposed or have taken personal risks, protect your roommates by self-quarantining when at home.
• Comply with surveillance testing requirements and contact tracing. We urge students to remain vigilant as we continue to phase in additional activities.

Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our community safe.

Sincerely,
Geoff Brackett, Executive Vice President
Thom Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Deb DiCaprio, Vice President for Student Affairs