Dear Brown Community Members, 

As community members returned from spring recess, we required those who traveled over that period to test on days 1 and 3. In doing so, we anticipated an increase in students, faculty and staff reporting having tested positive for COVID-19. As described below, the numbers this week are higher than last week, although consistent with what we anticipated. We continue to be confident in public health conditions on campus; individuals reporting positive test results generally have no or mild symptoms, and we have no instances of severe illness or hospitalization or any indication of widespread transmission on campus. The testing that we asked community members to do upon return is serving its intended purpose, and individuals who test positive are taking appropriate steps to isolate themselves and reduce the risk of transmission to others. We encourage all members of the community to continue to monitor and pay attention to the onset and development of symptoms. All Brown community members must stay home from work, class and/or other University events and functions if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

In regard to test results reported to the University over the last week: From Thursday, March 31, through Wednesday, April 6, 87 students reported positive test results (up 55 from a corrected total of 32 last week). Approximately 25 students are currently in isolation in on-campus or designated isolation housing off-campus (note that the number of students who report positive tests results and the number in isolation will not be the same each week, as students may isolate in their off-campus apartments or at home if they live nearby, and the isolation numbers fluctuate as students begin and end their respective isolation periods). In the same timeframe, 21 employees reported testing positive (up 10 from last week). We also monitor employee absences due to COVID-19 — which can be for a range of reasons, including care of a child or family member or quarantine due to a known exposure — and the number of such absences for the most recent full work week was 6. It is important to note that these numbers represent employee absences reported to University Human Resources and do not necessarily reflect all of the disruptions currently impacting faculty and staff due to K-12 school closures and remote learning, care for a family member, or other challenges to daily routines.

Through Wednesday, April 6, we have distributed 47,693 test kits. Operating hours for the test kit pick-up sites can be found on the testing page of the Healthy Brown website:

https://healthy.brown.edu/testing-tracing/test-kit-pick-sites

If you are visiting the test pick-up sites for additional tests and you have recently taken a pack of ten (10) KN95 masks, please leave the masks for others. Each bag of masks is sufficient for most people for about a month.

As previously communicated, rapid antigen tests are becoming increasingly available from the federal government supply as well. Insurance companies are now reimbursing the costs of tests, and tests will be available in the coming weeks at pharmacies and other locations with no out-of-pocket expense. Tests can also be ordered directly at https://www.covidtests.gov/ (we understand this option is not available for direct mailing to students in residence halls -- we suggest having tests delivered to a family member or friend who can send them to you at Brown and/or taking advantage of the insurance reimbursement option referenced below). We encourage all members of the community to take advantage of these resources. Information for employees regarding options through participating insurance carriers can be found on the University Human Resources benefits page:

https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/human-resources/benefits

And information for students participating in the student health insurance plan can be found on the United Healthcare Student Resources website (see the March 24, 2022, updated titled “COVID-19 Home Test Member Reimbursement):

https://www.uhcsr.com/news-main

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. For questions or support regarding the testing program, students can contact the student testing support team (studenttesting@brown.edu), and faculty and staff can contact the employee testing support team (employeetestinguhr@brown.edu).

Sincerely,

Russell C. Carey
Executive Vice President, Planning and Policy