Contact Tracing and Participation in In-Person Classes and Co-Curricular Offerings

 

August 24, 2021

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, 

In the past few days, we have received some questions about the policy regarding classroom attendance as it relates to contact tracing.  We appreciate that everyone is exercising caution and being mindful of how we can play our part to support public health.

With this message, we would like to answer three types of questions we have received. 

* If you are notified by contact tracers of a possible COVID exposure, then you may not participate in in-person classes or in-person co-curricular offerings until you receive a negative result from a COVID test that was taken no sooner than 48 hours after your notification.

* If you have been notified by contact tracers more than once of multiple possible COVID exposures, then please wait at least 48 hours after the most recent contact-tracing notification to test.  What will be required for you to rejoin in-person classes or in-person co-curricular offerings is a negative test taken a minimum of 48 hours after your most-recent notification.

* If you have good reason to believe you were exposed but were not contract traced (e.g., because the COVID-positive person was not a student, faculty, or staff member of the Dartmouth community), then we ask that you not participate in in-person classes or in-person co-curricular offerings until you receive a negative result from a COVID test that was taken no sooner than 48 hours after your last direct contact with the COVID-positive person.

Thanks very much for your continued flexibility in supporting our community’s health and wellbeing.

The Deans’ Office