In a school-wide email sent on Aug. 27, Smith disclosed that an on-campus community member has tested positive for COVID-19. Due to privacy laws, the college did not reveal if the positive case was a student or an on-campus employee.
Students approved to be living on or near campus and approved on-campus employees are required to participate in Smith’s twice-weekly coronavirus screening program, which began in August. According to college protocol, a student who tests positive for COVID-19 will be moved to dedicated, on-campus isolation housing and will be provided with appropriate support. The college will also initiate contact tracing, notification, and mandatory quarantine procedures for close contacts.
A positive testing employee will be required to remain off campus and receive appropriate care until cleared by their primary health provider to return to campus. Smith College will also initiate on-campus contact tracing and consult with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on off-campus contact tracing.
Future positive cases on campus will be reported on Smith College’s Coronavirus Screening Dashboard. As of Aug. 28, Smith has confirmed one positive test case through its screening program, seven inconclusive test results*, and 535 screenings performed to date.
New updates about the coronavirus can be found on the college’s COVID-19 Response Plan webpage.
*According to Smith’s Coronavirus Screening Dashboard, an inconclusive result indicates an error in processing or collection, and those individuals are rescreen
