Update on Campus Response to Recent Increase in COVID-19 Positive Case Activity

To: Caltech Undergraduate Students 
From: Kevin Gilmartin, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Lesley Nye, Interim Dean of Undergraduate Students

We write again today to update you on the Institute's response to the continued rise in COVID-19 positive cases among undergraduates. In the last 24 hours, we have received confirmation of 16 COVID-19 positive cases within the undergraduate community, and have had to move most of those students into isolation housing. 

This means that the Institute is approaching the limit of our isolation space on campus and, as a result,  we are implementing additional measures to slow the spread of the virus within the campus community.

The following preventative measures are effective immediately:

• Student dining operations will return to grab-and-go. You may pick up your meal at any of the dining facilities on campus. We encourage you to enjoy them outside or, if inside, at a distance from your friends. 
• We also encourage the use of high-quality masks in all indoor public spaces. 
• All upcoming student social events and gatherings are postponed until further notice. We will revisit these events when we return in the winter. 

Additionally, we have asked faculty to be mindful of the possible need for hybrid end of term reviews and activities.

We know this is very disappointing, but we have a responsibility to support the health and well-being of our community and to slow the spread of the virus as we close the term. If you have the opportunity to leave campus and complete your finals from home, we encourage you to work with your faculty to do so.  

We will be reviewing the numbers again tomorrow, and will update you if the landscape changes.  All students are asked to submit at least one surveillance testing sample between now and Monday at 11 a.m.