March 5, 2020 Dear Loomis Chaffee Community Members, As we head into the March break, I write with an update on the school's plans and response to the global outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) with a particular focus on travel considerations and return-to-campus protocols for later this month. We ask that parents as well as faculty and staff make or revise their travel plans to ensure, to the extent possible, their student's or their own safe and timely return to campus for the start of the spring term. March Break Travel - International Travel. All community members are expected to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. State Department travel guidelines. Currently, this means avoiding all non-essential travel to China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran — countries the CDC has assessed a Level 3 Travel Warning. The school also strongly recommends that community members avoid travel to countries with a Level 2 CDC travel warning. Currently, Japan is the only country with a Level 2 warning. Please note that if you choose to travel to a country with a Level 3 or 2 designation, you will be subject to return-to-campus restrictions. More information about those restrictions are outlined below.
If you are traveling to other countries during the break, please closely monitor CDC travel notices. In addition to the Level 2 and 3 countries listed above, the CDC has advised travelers to Hong Kong to practice usual precautions (Level 1). Situations in these and other countries are rapidly evolving and may result in increased travel restrictions and health screenings implemented over the course of the March break, which could affect your ability to return to campus at the end of the vacation. The CDC also recommends that all travelers reconsider cruise ship voyages into or within Asia. For more detailed information about CDC travel advisories, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html.
- Galapagos Islands. Yesterday, we canceled the Alvord Center-sponsored international education program trip to the Galapagos Islands, originally scheduled for March. Although there is no way to know what the status of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ecuador/the Galapagos Islands will be during the March break, and whether there will be any new restrictions on travel, we wanted to be sure that our group was not placed into a scenario that affected their ability to return home as a result of elevated travel restrictions.
- Athletics Trips. Currently, trips to California for the boys and girls lacrosse teams and to Florida for the boys baseball team are proceeding as planned. We are monitoring closely the COVID-19 situations in both states and will continue to reassess this decision in the coming days. Students who have signed up for these trips are reminded that participation is voluntary and they may pull out if they prefer not to go. These trips are not try-outs for these teams; try-outs begin on campus at the start of the spring term. If you have any questions about these trips, please contact Athletics Director Sue Cabot at 860.687.6308.
- Envoys Trip to New York City and Boston. Currently, the trip to New York City and Boston for international students who could not travel home due to CDC and U.S. State Department restrictions is proceeding as planned. But families should be thinking about possible alternative plans if these trips are canceled.
Return-to-Campus Protocol - Students, parents, faculty, and staff should not return to campus without Health Center approval if they have had any symptoms of illness, especially fever, respiratory symptoms, and/or gastrointestinal symptoms in the five days prior to their planned return to campus. The Health Center can be reached at health_center@loomis.org.
- Students, parents, faculty, and staff who are either diagnosed with COVID-19 or are a person under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19 may not return to campus or join a Loomis-sponsored event/trip until they are fully recovered, receive clearance from their physician, AND receive approval from the Health Center.
- Students, parents, faculty, and staff who traveled to or through countries with a Level 3 or Level 2 CDC travel warning may not return to campus or join a Loomis-sponsored event/trip until they have been in the United States and symptom-free for at least 14 days prior to their planned return to campus AND have received approval from the Health Center.
- Students, parents, faculty, and staff who have come in contact with a COVID-19 patient or a person under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19 may not return to campus or join a Loomis-sponsored event/trip unless they have been symptom-free for at least 14 days from exposure AND have received approval from the Health Center.
- IMPORTANT: Loomis Chaffee is not equipped to isolate individuals awaiting COVID-19 lab results or to accommodate 14-day self-quarantine waiting periods. Families must have off-campus contingency plans in place. (Please see section below on Emergency Contacts.)
To contact the Health Center and report any of the health scenarios listed above, please email health_center@loomis.org. Additional Considerations - Emergency Contacts for Boarding Students. In the event that a student should become ill and have to leave campus and/or an outbreak of illness on campus requires the school to close, all boarding students need to have a plan to leave campus. We require every boarding student to have an emergency contact within 300 miles of campus who can care for the student if needed. Families who do not have an emergency contact on file will be contacted by the school in the coming days and asked to designate a contact in Veracross.
- Preparing for a delayed return to campus. If a student's return to campus at the end of March break is delayed due to illness or travel restrictions, parents are asked to inform their child's dorm head or dean. We will work with the child's teachers to implement a remote learning plan for the duration of their absence. Faculty delayed in their return to campus should contact the dean of faculty, and staff should inform the director of human resources.
- Preparing for a delayed start to the spring term. If circumstances require the school to delay the start of the spring term, we will implement a remote learning plan. Details of that plan will vary depending on the situation, but we ask all students to bring home with them the materials they would need to start their classes at home, including laptops and books. Any remote learning plan will require students to have reliable Wi-Fi access. Hopefully this scenario will not come to pass, but we should plan for it regardless.
This update is a result of the work of Loomis' COVID-19 Task Force. The task force meets regularly to review the latest information and recommendations from the CDC as well as local, state, and federal agencies; to review and revise plans to address possible disruptions to school life; to provide guidelines for our community members with regard to their health and wellness; and to discuss communications to community members. In the weeks and months ahead, we recommend that you continue to monitor news about COVID-19. The CDC as well as your local and state departments of health are good sources of information. As a reminder, no one should return to campus if they have had any symptoms of illness, especially fever, respiratory symptoms, and/or gastrointestinal symptoms in the five days prior to their planned return to campus. Work and school can wait — for students, faculty, and staff! Your health and the well-being of the community are of primary importance. I will be in touch with you during the March break with any updates to the school's plans. Thank you for your support as we work to keep our community safe and healthy. Sincerely, Sheila Culbert |