Dear Sanford Professional and Graduate Students,
We are sharing the latest COVID-19 resources from the university with you. Below is a list of websites and other resources where you can regularly find up-to-date information about COVID-19 policies and protocols.
Resources:
- Duke Coronavirus Response – Key messages and weekly testing reports
- Duke United – Public health measures and FAQs for students, faculty and staff
- Keep Learning – Expectations for undergraduate students and graduate/professional students
- Duke COVID Vaccine – Info about vaccinations
Additionally, here are some specific topics about which we have received questions:
Testing Protocols & Data:
- If you are a student who has been exposed to a person with COVID-19 or you are a student experiencing COVID-like symptoms, you should immediately contact Student Health by calling 919-681-9355 and choosing option 1. Student Health will handle student testing, contact tracing, and instructions for isolating or quarantining.
- Students experiencing COVID symptoms must contact Student Health and follow their instructions. The following site details Duke’s testing and isolation protocols for students: https://returnto.duke.edu/covid-19-testing/.
- Students missing classes due to COVID: If students are sick and/or isolating due to a COVID diagnosis, they should not attend class. Faculty should use the course absence policy and makeup policy per the syllabus.
- All students, regardless of vaccination status, will be tested at least once a week, per the Undergraduate Student COVID-19 Policy Plan and the Graduate and Professional Student COVID-19 Policy Plan. Students who have been vaccinated may also be asked to participate in surveillance testing more than once per week based on changing conditions or their individual circumstances.
- Duke continues to report its testing data every Monday afternoon on the Coronavirus Response website, via Duke social media channels like Twitter and in The Duke Daily. That webpage also provides new CDC-recommended guidelines for quarantining and isolation for students living both on and off-campus.
Campus Safety Measures:
- Masks are now required on the Duke campus in all indoor and outdoor locations, unless you are exercising alone, actively eating or drinking, or otherwise not around others. After vaccinations, masks are the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Note: Your class may meet outside without masks if socially distanced. The outside masking mandate is really to keep people from interacting closely, particularly in large groups, without masks. More details on the masking requirement are available on the Duke United website.
- Indoor group seating at Duke Dining facilities is temporarily suspended. If you are eating together, please eat outside. All Duke Dining facilities will transition to grab and go, and more than 25 tents have been erected across the campus to provide outdoor seating for meals and other gatherings.
- All student organization programs with 50 or more attendees need to be registered and approved through DukeGroups. This continues a practice established last academic year. To reduce the risk of transmission, events should be held outside when possible. This policy applies to events already scheduled and posted in DukeGroups. If an event is not approved before the event is to take place, event hosts should plan to hold events virtually.
- Duke urges all students to use caution in attending events that carry greater risk of infection and transmission to others. The Delta variant is at least 2 times more transmissible than previous COVID variants, so it takes very little time for someone to become infected while unmasked.
- Undergraduate students received additional guidance from Duke: https://coronavirus.duke.edu/2021/08/important-covid-updates-for-undergrads-aug-30/
Vaccination Reporting:
- All Duke undergraduate, graduate and professional students were required to present proof of vaccination or have an approved exemption by Aug. 23 in order to attend classes and other campus activities.
- Visit the COVID Vaccine website to learn how to obtain a free, safe COVID-19 vaccine and to check and/or report your vaccination status.
All informational messages sent by President Price, Provost Kornbluth, Vice President Cavanaugh, the Office of Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic are available on the Coronavirus Response website.
Have a great Labor Day weekend, and stay safe!
Cory Krupp, PhD
Associate Dean of Academic Programs
Sanford School of Public Policy
Duke University
302 Towerview Road
Box 90237
Durham, NC 27708-0237
(919) 613-9221