New COVID-19 Community Dashboard

Dear members of the Emerson community,

We are pleased to launch a new dashboard that will provide a snapshot of our community’s COVID-19 testing data from Tufts Medical Center/The Broad Institute, updated weekly throughout the fall term.

The dashboard will display high-level information, including:

●      Total number of tests conducted to date;

●      Number of individuals who have tested positive or negative, as well as the number of “invalid” tests. Tests marked “invalid” are due to individual user error and may require re-testing;

●      Number of community members in isolation, in quarantine on campus, and who have been hospitalized.

In consultation with medical and infectious disease experts, Emerson leaders are closely tracking this information and other key data points with utmost vigilance. While the dashboard will be updated every Monday, please know that we will continue to communicate any critical health and safety information more frequently as needed. The health and wellbeing of our community is the College’s top priority.

Once the baseline testing program is complete, all students, as well as faculty and staff who have opted in, will continue to be tested for COVID-19 every week–even if they have no symptoms. This is known as surveillance testing, widely recognized as an effective way to monitor the health of a community. The dashboard will reflect those findings as well as results from people who report symptoms. While we expect the number of positive results to rise as our testing program continues, it is our hope the many safety measures that the College has put in place will mitigate the increase. We also hope that the information on the dashboard will encourage all of us to continue our vigilance in following our campus’ health and safety protocols.

We thank you for your continued support and adherence to all COVID-19 related guidelines and practices, including the use of face coverings and social distancing. Reopening our campus safely is an effort that will take all of us!

Sincerely,

Erik Muurisepp

AVP, Campus Life

COVID-19 Lead