Dear Brown Community Members,

I am pleased to inform the Brown community that effective Monday, Feb. 8, 2021, the Campus Activity Status will be at Level 2. This involves some important changes from the modified Level 2 we announced on Jan. 26, and represents the additional activities we said would be allowed if public health conditions permitted. In order to stay at Level 2, it will be critical for all members of the community to continue to wear your mask, wash your hands, maintain social distancing and, in particular, please keep your close contacts to as small a group as possible.

The details of the range of activities that are permissible under Level 2 can be found on the Campus Activity Status webpage on Healthy.Brown.edu.

Please be sure to read both the newly and continuing permitted activities, and also the ongoing restrictions that remain in place because of public health guidance. There also is important information in this communication about a change in quarantine policy.

Highlights of Newly Permitted Activities:

• The Nelson Fitness Center, the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, and some outdoor recreational athletic facilities will be open for student use, by reservation. More information can be found on the Brown Recreation Bfit booking portal.

• Students (graduate, medical and on-campus and off-campus undergraduates) who have firmly established pods — a stable group of five people or less, or the number of their immediate room, suite or apartment mates — may dine and socialize in those pods without a mask, but should be especially careful to wear a mask outside of their pod and avoid crossing pods without a mask and social distancing. A pod refers to immediate household groups — co-workers or research colleagues are not a pod.

• Intercollegiate athletic teams may practice pursuant to the Ivy League Phase One level of activities. Student-athlete team practices may be held outdoors, limited to a maximum number of 15, inclusive of coaches and staff. The number of athletes permitted in indoor practices is limited to social distancing by square footage. Masks and social distancing will be required at all times, and personal equipment has been distributed to and will be maintained by individual student-athletes.

• Office hours/advising should continue to be remote unless they can be conducted outdoors with masks and social distancing (e.g., walking office hours).

Highlights of Continuing Permitted Activities:

• Undergraduate and graduate classes of 19 students or fewer can meet in-person.

• Libraries are open, and undergraduate, graduate and medical students can reserve study space seating using the LibCal Seat Booking tool. Books and other materials ordered through Josiah continue to be available through contactless circulation, with pickup at the Rockefeller Library lobby.

• The Kasper Multipurpose Room is available for student use as a reservable study space. The space may also be used to relax in, read, and other low-volume, seated activities. The space includes whiteboards and power for group collaboration or single-use. Mask wearing and social distancing are required. Reservations can be made using the LibCal Seat Booking tool.

• Limited University-sponsored and University-organized in-person events approved by senior administration officers and hosted by faculty or staff may take place, preferably outdoors, with mask wearing and social distancing.

• In addition to newly permitted student use of the fitness center and pool, all community members are strongly encouraged to exercise outdoors, both on- and off-campus, and to take advantage of getting outside as much as possible while following health protocols. Walking and running with masks and socially distanced from others are great ways to get some exercise and get to know the City of Providence and surrounding areas, including the East Bay Bike Path.

Ongoing Limitations and Health Protocols:

Continued vigilance on everyone’s part will be critical to staying in Level 2, including making well-informed personal decisions based on accurate public health guidance about managing risk and trade-offs as new variables get introduced.

All community members must continue to follow this guidance:

• Student organization events, activities and meetings will continue to be virtual (student organizations and leaders will be actively involved in planning and carrying out the University-sponsored and University-organized events described above).

• Religious and academic and administrative meetings and gatherings continue to be virtual.

• Brown community members should continue to avoid in-person restaurant dining, and do not go to bars or other settings with crowds where social distancing and/or mask-wearing is not taking place.

• Restrictions on out-of-state travel remain in place.

• Students with the location of study “remote, outside of the Providence area” should not visit the Providence area because they are not enrolled in Brown’s testing program.

• Visitors and guests are not currently allowed on campus, except as specifically approved in departmental Return to Campus and/or Return to Research plans.

• Everyone should wear a mask or face covering in line with the University’s COVID-19 Campus Safety Policy. Masks and social distancing remain among the most important health and safety measures we can take as individuals and a community.

Change to 10-Day Quarantine Period:

• In December 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Rhode Island Department of Health issued guidance allowing for the reduced duration of quarantine periods for individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19. At that time, Brown announced that we would maintain the University’s policy of a 14-day quarantine period and that we would reassess that policy at the end of January. We have now concluded that assessment, which included an examination of the latest medical guidance and a review of our experience at Brown with student testing in quarantine.

• Based on the assessment, we have determined that, effective for contacts identified Feb. 4, 2021, and after, the University will require students, faculty and staff who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine for a period of 10 days from the date of last known exposure. At the end of the 10-day period, if the individual has no symptoms of COVID-19, they will be allowed to resume normal activities on campus, including routine asymptomatic COVID-19 testing. This is Brown’s new quarantine policy, and all policies and guidance related to quarantine on campus will be updated to reflect this decision.

I and other members of the Covid-19 Campus Activity Level Review Team continue to meet at least twice a week to review health data and public and campus health conditions to advise on changes to the activities permitted under the campus activity levels. Moving to Level 2 is a positive and important milestone, and all members of the Brown community should take pride in doing so.

We look forward to continuing to work together to maintain a safe and healthy campus in the weeks and months ahead.

Sincerely,

Russell C. Carey
Executive Vice President, Planning and Policy