Mount Holyoke College’s COVID-19 testing center is currently located in Abbey-Buckland. Photo by Ali Meizels ‘23.
By Gillian Petrarca ‘23
Staff Writer
Editor’s note: The data, information and interviews referenced in the following article were most recently updated on Sept. 8. On Sept. 9, the College released an update to their COVID-19 protocols, which included clarifications concerning testing, quarantine/isolation and contact tracing on campus. These are the experiences of some Mount Holyoke students prior to the Sept. 9 clarification.
When Mount Holyoke College announced its return to the first in-person semester since March 2020, they did so with substantial expansions to the Community Compact. Among other requirements, the College mandated that all students, staff and faculty receive a COVID-19 vaccination either on or before move-in day.
According to an Aug. 11 email sent to the community from President Sonya Stephens, the College had, by that point, achieved a student and staff vaccination rate of 89 percent, reporting 23 vaccine exemptions for religious or medical reasons. This vaccination rate is well above the state-wide vaccination rate in Massachusetts, which is 66 percent, as well as the nearly 76 percent of Massachusetts residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Graphic by News Staff
The College also requires compliance with twice-weekly asymptomatic PCR COVID-19 tests as well as masking while indoors. Yet despite the strict guidelines and high vaccination rates, seven students have tested positive for COVID-19 within the first two weeks of full-capacity residency.
According to the College’s COVID-19 dashboard, these seven cases developed over the period of Aug. 23 - Sept. 5, resulting in a 0.085 percent positivity rate and 60 percent of isolation housing remaining unoccupied.
During the Spring 2021 semester, with 700 students living at Mount Holyoke, on-campus infection rates averaged at 1-2 positive tests per week. Within the first two weeks, 13 out of 2,967 tests came back positive, which constituted a 0.48 percent positivity rate, more than five times the College’s current rate.
Students also had significantly less mobility in the spring. The College’s Community Compact directed students to stay within a 10-mile radius of the school, wear masks outside of their dorms at all times and not have guests within their rooms. Dining was takeout, self-serve was not available and students were not allowed into any campus buildings besides their residence hall or Blanchard Campus Center. Additionally, in-person classes were not held.
Students participated in twice-weekly asymptomatic COVID-19 tests, which they signed up for in Embark at the beginning of each week.
This semester, Mount Holyoke has relaxed most of its previous restrictions.
The College’s protocol in the event of a positive case, as laid out on the Mount Holyoke website, is that students will be notified of a positive test through a phone call from the Health Center. The Health Center will direct the student to isolation housing, where they will remain for ten days. When the student arrives in isolation housing, they will speak with contact tracers that will help identify and locate their potential close contacts on campus.
The College is following CDC guidelines to identify close contacts. CDC guidelines identify a close contact as anyone who has been within six feet of a positive person for more than 15 minutes over a 24 hour period. Close contacts are recommended to quarantine if they have not been fully vaccinated, while fully vaccinated individuals or those who have had COVID-19 within the last three months may not have to quarantine.
Kelechi Ezeugwu ’23 said that she was notified by email about her potential exposure as a close contact with someone in her class. Ezeugwu said the email advised her to wear a mask indoors and outdoors, limit eating within six feet of people, monitor her symptoms and continue getting tested twice a week.
“I was a little concerned that I could not get tested over the weekend,” Ezeugwu said, as the Testing Center closure over the weekend and Labor Day prevented her from getting a test on Monday. “I live in a triple and have two roommates. Since I was not able to get test results, I decided to wear a mask in the room. I was really afraid of being positive without knowing and passing it on to my roommates, who could also pass it on to other people without knowing.”
“Since I was not able to get test results, I decided to wear a mask in the room. I was really afraid of being positive without knowing and passing it on to my roommates, who could also pass it on to other people without knowing.”
-Kelechi Ezeugwu ’23
Ezeugwu said that the class in which she came in close contact with someone who tested positive was moved online by the professor until the following Thursday. The professor wanted to ensure everyone received a negative COVID-19 test before coming back to class. However, Ezeugwu said that this was confusing because she was still attending other classes in person while potentially being positive for COVID-19.
Nora Carrier ’23 expressed similar concerns. After Carrier’s roommate tested positive, they were told to follow the same procedure as Ezeugwu.
“When my roommate tested positive, the Health Center told me that as long as I didn’t develop any symptoms, I was free to go to classes and Blanch[ard] right away,” Carrier recalled. “They called me three days later to remind me to test, but other than that I didn’t receive any more information from them. They’re doctors so I trusted them and followed their directions, but I was very surprised that I didn’t have to isolate,” Carrier said. According to the CDC, evidence suggests that people who are fully vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine, as in Pfizer or Moderna, are less likely than unvaccinated people to spread COVID-19 to others.
“I trust the Health Center and the medical professionals who work there, but at the time it felt like they were just letting me and my roommate’s other close contacts roam free, even though we could be asymptomatic carriers,” Carrier added. “Thankfully, we all tested negative later in the week, but it was a very stressful situation and I felt as though I wasn’t given a lot of guidance.”
Clare Messina-Fitzgerald ’23 entered isolation housing after being identified as a close contact and reporting symptoms to the Health Center. “I called the Health Center to let them know that I started to develop symptoms. They told me to stay in my room and begin packing and that they would get back to me soon about where to go for isolation housing. About an hour later they called me back and told me where to go for isolation,” she said. According to College policy, students who test positive will remain in isolation housing for ten days, after which they will be released from isolation housing and do not have to participate in the College’s asymptomatic testing program for the next 90 days.
In isolation housing, all students have their own rooms and bathrooms. Meals can be ordered online and are delivered between 1-3 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Students are expected to call the Health Center every day they are in isolation to report their symptoms.
“I’ve definitely called them to report my symptoms and had to leave a voicemail before,” Messina-Fitzgerald said. “I’m concerned that if I was having terrible symptoms they would not answer.” For non-health related needs, students are told to contact a designated non-medical Health Center employee. This employee may supply students with ibuprofen or deliver them packages from auxiliary services. Messina-Fitzgerald mentioned that the person assigned to help her has been accommodating. “She’s helped me get a lot of things, she brought me one of my packages from [Auxiliary Services] and a water heater to make tea,” Messina-Fitzgerald said. “She made herself available to me over the holiday weekend.”
In terms of classes, Messina-Fitzgerald said that all of her professors have been understanding and that two of her classes have been moved online for the time being.
“I definitely think the College is relying on vaccines to prevent students from having severe cases,” Messina-Fitzgerald said. “I don’t think the College would be prepared to deal with a serious case or handle a large outbreak on campus.”