Message from the President Regarding COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies

The following email message was sent to all Randolph College students, faculty, and staff on February 11, 2022. Visit www.randolphcollege.edu/covid19 for more information about Randolph’s actions and responses to COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Randolph community members,

Thankfully, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to have reached its peak here in Lynchburg, regionally, and statewide, and health officials are predicting a sharp decline in the number of cases over the coming weeks. This is welcome news to us all.

Here at Randolph, we have so far been able to keep our positive cases to a minimum. In fact, out of the 506 people tested on the first day of classes, only two students and two employees received positive results. This is an amazing accomplishment, and I am proud and thankful to everyone on campus for their work to keep our community safe.

Despite the fact that the COVID-19 situation is improving, there is still a need at this point to maintain our mitigation strategies, including the mask mandate. Throughout the pandemic, we have based our decisions on science and followed the guidance of health officials and the CDC. The latest guidance recommends keeping mask mandates indoors while the level of transmission in the area is in the substantial or high range. This guidance can be found here. The COVID-19 Task Force has agreed that when the transmission rate for the area drops to the moderate or low range, we will be able to lift our mask mandate. You can track the levels here.

I realize that everyone is tired of the pandemic and its impact on our daily lives. I share that frustration. However, I remain hopeful that we will start to see real, lasting improvement in the coming weeks. Again, we thank you for working together to keep our community healthy.

Sincerely,
Brad Bateman

For more information and updates visit www.randolphcollege.edu/covid19