Dear Brown Community Members,

I am writing to provide an update with regard to COVID-19 routine asymptomatic testing following the recent Thanksgiving recess, our ongoing monitoring of developments regarding the Omicron variant, the importance of getting a booster shot if you are eligible, and the expansion of the self-administered testing process to all campus testing sites beginning on Monday, December 6.

As members of the community are aware, we required all undergraduate students to get tested twice this week following the recess and encouraged others to take advantage of an optional test. The testing volume has, as a result, been much higher than in recent weeks and as we expect when the number of tests increases, the number of positive test results increases as well. As of this writing, we have conducted approximately 6,296 tests from Saturday, Nov. 27, through Wednesday, Dec. 1 (the testing centers were closed Thursday and Friday of last week). Of those tests, there have been 25 asymptomatic positive results, for a positivity rate of about 0.40%. For comparison, over the prior four weeks, the number of asymptomatic tests per week ranged from 2,056 to 3,131 and the positivity rate from 0.19% to 0.26%. We also continue to see positive results among symptomatic tests conducted of students by University Health Services and a modest number of students and employees reporting having tested positive from tests taken at off-campus sites. All of that taken into account, the overall positivity rate on-campus remains very low, especially in comparison to the State of Rhode Island, which is currently at 4.9%. As has been the case now for the entire fall semester, there is no evidence of widespread community transmission or adverse health consequences caused by spread. Our experience at Brown continues to be what we expect in a community where vaccination levels are nearly universal — low positivity rates, mild symptomatic cases, no severe illness or hospitalization, and no widespread community transmission of the virus. We remain encouraged by these results and confident about a healthy and safe conclusion to the fall semester.

We are, of course, closely monitoring developments with regard to the Omicron variant. At this time further data and research need to be conducted to understand the virulence and transmissibility of Omicron, and scientific guidance will continue to emerge over the next several weeks. International travel restrictions pose challenges for members of the Brown community, especially as we approach the Winter Break, and students in need of support in that regard can contact Student Support Services at studentsupport@brown.edu. We will continue to follow and heed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), but at this time there is no basis for changes to our on-campus operations and policies. Given how close we are to the end of the semester, I would note that we do not anticipate making any significant changes, including any changes to the mask wearing requirements indoors, prior to the Winter Break. All community members must continue to fully comply with all COVID-19 safety measures, including mask wearing indoors.

As we have previously communicated, booster shots are widely available and critically important to individual and community health. The CDC has said that everyone age 18 and older should get a booster shot either when they are six months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna series or two months after their initial J&J vaccine.  All members of the Brown community who are eligible for a booster who have not yet received one should do so now. University Health Services is working with RIDOH on hosting a campus-based booster clinic the week of December 13th and more information about that clinic will be forthcoming.

Finally, in early November we began piloting self-administered COVID-19 testing at One Davol Square. That process has gone very well and beginning on Monday, Dec. 6, it will expand to the Alumnae Hall test site. The test is the same (a PCR test provided by the Broad Institute) and the process will be very similar to what you have been doing but without an Advanced Clinical medical technician supervising the sample collection stage. Participants pick-up a test kit at the test site and follow the simple instructions provided: open the package, remove the swab, collect the sample, and place the swab in the collection tube. There will be staff present to facilitate the self-administered test process and assist with any questions you might have. You do have to schedule an appointment (same as you have been doing) and arrive at your scheduled time to avoid crowding. Test sites hours and days of operations can be found on the Testing Sites and Hours page of the healthy.brown.edu website, and we will soon be adding to that website the days and hours of testing over the Winter Break.

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