Health and Safety

Bryn Mawr College: Community Health and Safety Guide

Last Updated September 2, 2020

• Personal Health
  • Safety Behaviors
  • Plans for Pivoting Operations
  • Health Education
• Testing, Quarantining, and Isolating: Students Return to Campus
  • Resident Students
  • Commuting Students
• Testing, Quarantining, and Isolating During the Semester: Staff, Faculty, and Students
  • For Asymptomatic Staff Exposed to COVID-19
  • For Symptomatic Staff
  • For Staff Who Travel
  • For Asymptomatic Resident Students Exposed to COVID-19
  • For Symptomatic Resident Students
  • For Asymptomatic Commuting Students Exposed to COVID-19
  • For Symptomatic Commuting Students 
  • Testing During the Semester
  • Contact Tracing
• Campus Life
  • Classrooms and Academic Spaces
  • Workspace Safety
  • Living on Campus
  • Health and Wellness Center
  • Dining
  • Athletics and Fitness
  • Events
  • Facilities
• Beyond the Campus
  • Visitors
  • Travel

This page is a quick resource on campus health and safety for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Everyone must work together to create a culture of care for each other’s health. In the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, each of our actions impacts the well-being of others.

This is not an exhaustive list of all the steps the College is taking or of all planning. Knowledge of COVID-19 and its transmission is changing, and Bryn Mawr College’s Operations Planning Group is regularly revisiting guidance and will update this document accordingly.

It is important to restate the principles that continue to guide decision-making:

• Protect the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff
• Provide the best possible educational experience for students
• Prioritize people
• Contribute to the larger purpose of protecting public health
• Be mindful of equity and inclusion when considering options
• Consider both the short- and long-term health of the College.

Please contact Don Abramowitz, Bryn Mawr College COVID-19 Officer, at dabramow@brynmawr.edu with questions or concerns.

Personal Health

Health experts have offered consistent information about the effectiveness of the following group of measures that, when collectively, consistently, and diligently applied, have resulted in minimal transmissions within hospitals. These experts believe we can achieve similar results if all of us follow all of these measures.

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Safety Behaviors

To minimize risks to our health, each of us on the Bryn Mawr College campus must maintain the following practices at all time, whether on- or off-campus:

• Perform a symptom check every day and report our compliance via a central system, staying home if symptoms are present.
• Wear a facemask at all times while on campus unless you are in your dorm room, are working privately in your office (with no visitors) or are outside in an area where you will not encounter others. Masks can either be paper surgical masks or personal masks that meet the College’s requirements: they must cover both nose and mouth. The College will provide masks for those who need them.
• Maintain physical distancing of a minimum of six feet.
• Practice frequent handwashing. All those on campus should wash their hands or use hand sanitizer at least 5-10 times per workday, particularly when entering and leaving an in-person meeting, before and after eating, and after using the restroom.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with either a tissue or elbow.
• Flu shots are strongly advised for all community members unless otherwise indicated by their medical care provider. Flu shots will be available for enrolled, in-person students when they are initially tested upon their return to campus. We will also provide opportunities for faculty and staff to be inoculated on campus at a later date.
• Maintain a daily list of "close contacts": all people, whether masked or unmasked, with whom you have interacted for longer than 15 minutes at a distance of less than six feet.
• Work together to create a culture of care for each other’s health via compliance with guidelines.

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Plans for Pivoting Operations

• In collaboration with Haverford College, we are developing plans for adjusting in-person operations if transmission of the virus on campus or in the surrounding communities begins to increase in ways that increase health risk. We have defined levels for in-person opening that start with our “new normal” for in-person operation and advance through levels that decrease in-person interaction and campus presence. 

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Health Education

• All faculty and staff are required to view an online tutorial on COVID-19 health.
• Staff and faculty will have access to departmental trainings.
• The Dean's Office has created educational programs for students.
• Reminder signage is placed around the campus for health tips like handwashing and symptom checking.
• Reminder signage is placed to reinforce particular policies and procedures—6-feet markers for chairs or chairs marked as off-limits, spots on the floor where people need to form lines.

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Testing, Quarantining, and Isolating: Students Return to Campus

Resident Students

• Updated Aug. 19: All students are expected to arrive during the move-in period of August 24 to August 30. Any student who is unable to arrive within this period must be in touch with their dean no later than Friday, August 28, to discuss whether late arrival is possible.
• Students symptom check and self-quarantine at home for the two weeks leading up to their return to campus. Self-quarantining means limiting movement beyond the home to essential tasks and limiting in-person social contact to immediate household members. Solitary outdoor activities are permitted. For essential activities beyond the home that require in-person interaction, masks must be worn and physical distance maintained.
• Move-in is staggered to keep density in dormitories low as people move in. Only two people are allowed to accompany the student for move-in. Those guests who accompany the student must wear masks at all times, maintain physical distancing, and also be symptom free.
• After being on campus for at least two days, students will have a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test administered by AFC Urgent Care (on campus). The cost of this testing will be covered by the College.
• For the period between move-in and the start of classes, students will be in a screening period. During this screening period, they will primarily stay in their rooms, or on their floors and in common areas of their dorms if they are masked and maintain physical distance. They will pick up meals in the dining halls with other students on their floor. Students can also be outside if they are masked and maintain physical distance from others. Students can schedule times for “curbside pick-up” at the campus bookstore and post office. Even if students get a negative test result, they will continue with the screening period until all students have received test results (which will be close to the start of classes).
• If a student gets a positive test result, they move to the dorm designated for COVID-19-positive students (see below for additional steps).

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Commuting Students

• Two weeks before the start of classes, commuting students will be asked to begin symptom checking and to self-quarantine. Self-quarantining means limiting movement beyond the home to essential tasks and limiting in-person social contact to immediate household members. Solitary outdoor activities are permitted. For essential activities beyond the home that require in-person interaction, masks must be worn and physical distance maintained.
• About 10 days before the start of classes, students will have a PCR test administered by AFC Urgent Care during the scheduled campus testing.
• Students who have a positive test will be asked to isolate at home/in their off-campus residence (see below for additional steps).

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Testing, Quarantining, and Isolating During the Semester: Staff, Faculty, and Students

For Staff (including Faculty) Who Are Exposed to COVID-19 via a Close Contact, but Are Not Symptomatic

• Staff members symptom-check daily and identify if they have had close contact with someone who is symptomatic or is COVID-19-positive. The staff member remains at home and reports the situation to the department head/supervisor ASAP. The staff member will work from home if able and well enough to do so. If the staff member remains asymptomatic, the staff member should contact their medical provider for advice on testing. If the staff member’s contact is diagnosed with something other than COVID-19, the staff member can return to work when approved by their medical provider.
• If the close contact is determined to be COVID-19-negative, the exposed staff member can return to work (unless they themselves are symptomatic).
• If the close contact is COVID-19-positive, the exposed staff member must self-quarantine for 14 days from the last day of close exposure (where contact has been more than 15 minutes at a distance of less than six feet) and cannot come to campus or have in-person contact with any other member of the Bryn Mawr community. The staff member will be expected to work from home during the quarantine. If that is not possible due to the nature of the job, these days away from campus will be categorized as “COVID-19 Quarantine” hours on the timesheet and will not impact sick leave totals. This will be paid at the staff member’s regular rate of pay. The maximum period of quarantine pay is two weeks per event. The COVID-19 Officer will notify Human Resources so that the request for quarantine pay can be processed.
• If, during the quarantine, the staff member becomes symptomatic and tests positive for COVID-19, they should contact their department/supervisor ASAP and follow the steps below.
• If, during the quarantine, the staff member is asymptomatic, but tests positive for COVID-19, the staff member can return to work 10 days from the date of the positive test, assuming that they remain asymptomatic.

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For Staff (includes Faculty) Who Are Symptomatic

• Staff members symptom-check daily. If a staff member is symptomatic, the staff member stays home and reports the situation to the department head/supervisor ASAP and will work from home as tolerated.
• If the staff member’s symptoms resolve by the next day, the staff member can return to work.
• If the symptoms persist, the staff member should contact a medical provider for advice on testing, treatment, etc.
• If the staff member is diagnosed with something other than COVID-19, the staff member can return to work when approved by a medical provider.
• Staff members who are COVID-19-positive should alert their supervisor and provide Human Resources with the documentation of the COVID-19-positive test result. The supervisor or department head should immediately contact the College’s COVID-19 Officer. The COVID-19 Officer will notify the Montgomery County Department of Health and contact tracing begins by the Bryn Mawr College Health and Wellness Center and Montgomery County. Bryn Mawr will contact any close contacts from Bryn Mawr’s campus.
• Close contacts who are members of Bryn Mawr’s community will be asked to quarantine for 14 days (see above for details).
• The COVID-19 positive staff member will remain home during the period of illness.
• Staff members who are symptomatic—with or without a positive test result—who are unable to work from home will be paid under the terms of the College Sick and Short-Term Disability policies. This will be permitted even if the staff member does not have available sick time accrued.
• Staff members diagnosed with COVID-19 can return to work when they have been fever free for 24 hours (without fever reducers), their other symptoms are resolved or significantly improved, and they are at least 10 days from their first symptoms. Staff members must have medical clearance to return to work.
• If testing becomes scarce, we will use this same protocol, treating symptomatic staff members as positive cases and allowing them to return to work when they have been fever free for 24 hours (without fever reducers), their other symptoms are resolved or significantly improved, and they are at least 10 days from their first symptoms.

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For Staff (including Faculty) Who Travel

• Faculty and staff who travel for personal purposes internationally or to any state/area where there are high amounts of COVID-19 cases, as listed on the current Pennsylvania Department of Health web page, “COVID-19 Information for Travelers,” may not return to campus or have any in-person contact with anyone from the Bryn Mawr community for 14 days in accordance with PA Department of Health recommendations. During that time if possible and with supervisor permission, the person will work remotely. If working remotely is not feasible or permitted, the staff person must use accrued leave balances — vacation, personal, or sick — for that period of time.
• College-related required travel is not expected for the foreseeable future. That said, if there are faculty or staff who are asked to travel for essential functions by plane or train or long-distance bus, they are required to refrain from returning to campus or from having any in-person contact with anyone from the Bryn Mawr community for 14 days. During that time, if possible, the person will work remotely. If working remotely is not feasible, that time will be designated “COVID-19 Quarantine” time. The supervisor or department head must notify Human Resources in those circumstances.

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For Resident Students Who Are Exposed to COVID-19 via a Close Contact, but Are Not Symptomatic

• Students symptom-check daily and identify that they have had close contact with someone who is symptomatic or is COVID-19 positive. The student self-quarantines in the dorm room and reports the situation to the COVID-19 student health consultation line for instructions regarding quarantining and testing.
• If the close contact is determined to be COVID-19 negative, the exposed student can return to the community (unless they themselves are symptomatic).
• If the close contact is positive, the exposed student must self-quarantine for 14 days from the last day of close contact (where contact has been more than 15 minutes at a distance of less than 6 feet). This means that the student quarantines in the dorm room, or another designated dorm room, except to use the bathroom and pick up food that is left at a drop point near their dorm.
• If during the quarantine the student becomes symptomatic and tests positive for COVID-19, the student should contact the student COVID-19 health consultation line ASAP and follow the steps below.
• If during the quarantine the student is asymptomatic but tests positive for COVID-19, the student can return to campus activities 10 days from the date of the positive test, assuming that they remain asymptomatic.
• If the student is employed on campus, the student will work remotely where possible. If remote work is not possible, the student will be paid for the scheduled hours up to 70 paid hours for the semester.

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For Resident Students Who Are Symptomatic

• Students symptom-check daily. If a student is symptomatic, the student stays home and reports the situation to the COVID-19 health consultation line.
• If the attending health consultation line medical personnel determine it is necessary, the student packs a bag with two weeks’ worth of necessities and moves to isolation space, either in Wyndham or the reserved apartments located just off campus (all single rooms with private bath). They would take classes online only and work from their room if their health permits.
• Health and Wellness Center monitors the student’s health and provides testing if advisable.
• If a student tests negative for COVID-19 and the Health and Wellness Center advises it, the student can return to normal activity.
• If a student tests positive, the student is moved to Radnor Dormitory (a dormitory reserved for COVID-19-positive cases and separated quarantine space) for isolation and medical monitoring. COVID-19 positive students remain in Radnor except to pick up their meals, which will be dropped off just outside the dormitory at a designated distribution site.
• If a student is COVID-19 positive, contact tracing begins by Montgomery Department of Health and the Bryn Mawr College Health and Wellness Center. Bryn Mawr’s Health and Wellness Center will notify close contacts within the Bryn Mawr community.
• Close contacts (those who have been closer than 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes) would quarantine for 14 days (see above for details).
• Students diagnosed with COVID-19 can return to the community when they have been fever-free for 24 hours (without fever reducers), their other symptoms are resolved or significantly improved, they are at least 10 days from their first symptoms, and are cleared by the Bryn Mawr Health and Wellness Center.
• If testing becomes scarce, the College will use this same protocol, treating symptomatic students as positive cases and allowing them to return to campus activities when they have been fever-free for 24 hours (without fever reducers), their other symptoms are resolved or significantly improved, and they are at least 10 days from their first symptoms.
• If the student is employed on campus, the student will work remotely where possible. If remote work is not possible, the student will be paid for the scheduled hours up to 70 paid hours for the semester.

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For Commuting Students (Graduate Students, Postbac Students and Undergraduates Living Off-Campus) Who Are Exposed to COVID-19 via a Close Contact, But Are Not Symptomatic

• Student symptom-checks daily and identifies that they have had close contact with someone who is symptomatic or is COVID-19-positive. The student self-quarantines at home and reports the situation to the COVID-19 student health consultation line and will work from home.
• If the close contact is determined to be COVID-19-negative, the student can return to campus activity (unless they themselves are symptomatic).
• If the close contact is positive, the student must self-quarantine for 14 days from the last day of close exposure (where contact has been more than 15 minutes at a distance of less than 6 feet).
• If during the quarantine the student becomes symptomatic and tests positive for COVID-19, they should contact the student COVID-19 health consultation line and follow the steps below.
• If during the quarantine the student is asymptomatic, but tests positive for COVID-19, the student can return to campus activities 10 days from the date of the positive test, assuming that they remain asymptomatic.
• If the student is employed on campus, they will work remotely where possible. If remote work is not possible, the student will be paid for the scheduled hours up to 70 paid hours for the semester.

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For Commuting Students (Graduate Students, Postbac Students and Undergraduates Living Off-Campus in Non-College Provided Housing) Who Are Symptomatic

• Student symptom-checks daily. If the student is symptomatic, the student stays home and reports the situation to the COVID-19 student health consultation line and will work from home as tolerated.
• If the student’s symptoms resolve by the next day, the student can return to class and normal activities.
• If the symptoms persist, the student should contact a medical provider for advice on testing.
• If the student is diagnosed with something other than COVID-19, the student can return to campus activities when approved by a medical provider.
• If the student is COVID-19 positive they should alert the COVID-19 student health consultation line. The Montgomery County Department of Health is also notified and contact tracing begins by the Bryn Mawr College Health and Wellness Center and Montgomery County. Bryn Mawr will contact any close contacts from Bryn Mawr’s campus.
• Close contacts who are members of Bryn Mawr’s community will be asked to quarantine for 14 days (see above for details).
• Students who are positive will isolate in their off-campus housing.
• Students diagnosed with COVID-19 can return to campus activities when they have been fever-free for 24 hours (without fever reducers), their other symptoms are resolved or significantly improved, and they are at least 10 days from their first symptoms. Students must have medical clearance to return to campus.
• If testing becomes scarce, the College will use this same protocol, treating symptomatic students as positive cases and allowing them to return to campus activities when they have been fever free-for 24 hours (without fever reducers), their other symptoms are resolved or significantly improved, and they are at least 10 days from their first symptoms.
• If the student is employed on campus, they will work remotely where possible. If remote work is not possible, the student will be paid for their scheduled hours up to 70 paid hours for the semester.

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Testing During the Semester

• We are adopting a system of sequential testing.  The most important step in this process is daily symptom checking and timely reporting by symptomatic individuals (who also immediately quarantine until further advised).
• With the recommendation of Health and Wellness Center staff, we will proactively test students who are symptomatic. We are working to obtain point-of-care testing machines so that we obtain the fastest possible results.  Until that time we will partner with AFC for on-site and off-site test administration. 
• We will conduct some surveillance testing for close contacts of students with positive cases, or others who might be at-risk of exposure.  This would be an additional protective measure and would not replace quarantine of close contacts.
• As a way to monitor transmission rates on campus and to help us determine whether we need to adjust in-person operations, AFC will conduct additional surveillance testing of all residential students in late September and late October.
• As needed to help us monitor transmission rates, we may also conduct some targeted surveillance testing, using our point-of-care testing capacity.
• For initial screening tests and for testing that is recommended by Bryn Mawr’s Health and Wellness Center staff, Bryn Mawr College will cover the cost.
• Testing not recommended by the Bryn Mawr Health and Wellness Center will not be paid for or provided by the College.
• On a monthly basis, the College will also test faculty and staff who are regularly on campus and who volunteer for testing. 

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Contact Tracing

Montgomery County Department of Health requires a mechanism to track and trace potential contacts of COVID-19 positive persons in the College community.

For students, all contact tracing is done through the Johns Hopkins-trained staff of the medical services of the Health and Wellness Center. If the medical staff receive a positive result on a test done on a student, that student is notified and isolated. That student also will be asked to give a list of close contacts (For COVID-19, a close contact is defined as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from two days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, two days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated from others).

Department of Health requires that close contacts be notified within 24 hours of the medical staff receiving the laboratory report of a COVID-positive result. Students can expect to be notified if they are a close contact of someone who is a known positive. The name and identifying information of a COVID-positive person will not be shared. A close contact of a known positive will need to quarantine for 14 days from the point of last exposure to the person who is ill. If the close contact becomes ill, they should report symptoms to the nurse COVID line for advice.

Campus Life

Classrooms and Academic Spaces

• All classroom activities and laboratories will be located in spaces with good mechanical air exchange and filtration. A list of reservable spaces and their occupancy limits are now available online and in the room reservation system, EMS. Outdoor classroom spaces are also available for reservation.
• Classroom occupancy will maintain a minimum of 6 feet between people.
• Masks will be required in all classes and laboratories.
• If faculty and students abide by the safety behaviors in classrooms and laboratories, classroom participants will not be defined as close contacts of each other and will not require quarantining because they are considered at low risk for transmission.
• Wherever possible, students should not share equipment. If separate equipment is not possible, it should be cleaned between uses. If sanitation is not possible, students and faculty must wash their hands thoroughly after each use to avoid surface transmission.
• The College will provide wipes for cleaning surfaces by occupants before and after each class.
• The College will provide a few tents and more outside furniture for outdoor classrooms and small meeting spaces. The tent spaces must be reserved.
• The College will stagger classroom exits and keep classes on time to encourage orderly exit and prevent congregating to enter spaces.
• Students will not be permitted to do Praxis work onsite at a placement. All Praxis placements will be remote or occur on the Bryn Mawr or Haverford campus.
• GSSWSR will follow state and professional association guidelines for fieldwork.
• Faculty are strongly encouraged to conduct office hours remotely. Necessary in-office meetings should only take place in offices where mechanical ventilation is present and a minimum of 6 feet of separation between people can be maintained. In-person meetings should be by appointment to avoid crowding in the halls.
• Student visitors will not be permitted in classrooms. Faculty guests will be limited to only those who are deemed essential — meaning that the instruction could not take place virtually. All guests will follow safety behaviors.
• There will be no student in-person shopping for classes. The Registrar’s Office has arranged for a virtual shopping period in advance of registration.

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Workspace Safety

To lower risk of transmission in all workspaces, the College will:

• Use ventilation, lower density via shifts and remote work, and relocate staff as indicated. Every department and every building has a plan for workspaces, including for accommodating student workers.
• De-densify the number of staff on campus by allowing for some remote work.
• Appoint a COVID-19 safety liaison for each building to monitor practices and help identify concerns. In most cases this will be the building advocate.
• Design traffic flow for high intensity activities like book rush and post office.
• Provide cleaning materials so that employees can regularly clean their work stations and high-touch surfaces.
• Increase cleaning of high-touch surfaces in common areas to at least two times per day.
• Require employees who carpool or who take public transportation to wear a face mask traveling to and from work.

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Living on Campus

• Students will each have their own room (where they can close the door to have a private space) for studying and sleeping.
• To protect staff who work in the building and residents of other halls who may be visiting, students will wear masks when walking around, when in common areas, and in the bathrooms unless showering, washing their face, or brushing their teeth.
• Students are allowed to have one guest in their dorm at a time, provided they are accompanied by a dorm resident, wear a mask when traversing all common spaces and remain in the resident’s room. Guests are limited to students in the Bi-Co community who are enrolled for in-person instruction.  Masks are strongly recommended in the dorm room when guests are present in the room. Given the small sizes of dorm rooms, dorm guests will likely be considered close contacts should a student test positive.  A positive test would require the guest or the host to also quarantine for two weeks.
• Only Bi-Co students (enrolled in-person) are permitted in the dorms, as residents or as an accompanied guest. More broadly, visitors are not permitted on the campus, unless the visit is deemed essential. Family members who must make an essential visit are not permitted in the dorms. Arrangements should be made to either meet outside or in a reservable space. Essential visitors must abide by all campus safety practices.
• The College has modified “room draw” to allow students to room on the same hallway with their close friends and thus create family groups or pods of frequent contacts.
• Students will be expected to limit off-campus engagement and travel to essential functions such as health care, obtaining essential items or education-critical experiences (required field work). As is the case for all community members, we expect that students will abide by all safety practices such as masking and social distancing.
• The College has determined a schedule for more frequent shared bathroom cleanings and other common areas.
• Due to concerns about additional vectors of transmission to campus, off-campus work is not permitted. Any student who thinks it is essential that they work off-campus, should contact Cheryl Horsey, Chief Enrollment Officer, who will provide support to the student in exploring options for on-campus work or other financial support.

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Health and Wellness Center

• Plans for the operation of the Health and Wellness Center will be published shortly.
• In addition to the services offered by Counseling Services, as of September, the Health and Wellness Center’s Counseling Services has additional mental health support for students via Mourneau Shepell, which has a global reach of more than 160 countries. This will enable Bryn Mawr students from all over the world to access counseling support 24 hours per day, seven days per week, via chat, video, and telephone in 150 foreign languages, including American Sign Language. Through this service, students also have access to apps that support overall wellness, including a fitness app.

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Dining

• We will start the semester with no indoor, in-person dining. We will re-assess the possibility of indoor dining as the semester progresses.
• We have increased outdoor dining spaces with a tent near New Dorm Dining Hall. The Wyndham patio is also available for outdoor dining. 

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Athletics and Fitness

• The Centennial Conference has suspended the fall intercollegiate athletics season. Athletics staff are designing ways that teams can practice and train while still abiding by our safety practices, including masking.  
• The Athletics and Physical Education Department has developed creative, alternative options for fitness and physical education. At least for the first several weeks of the semester, the indoor Fitness Center will not be open. If conditions permit us to open later in the semester, we will begin by opening for students only.
• The pool will be open for members of the swim team at designated times. Only two swimmers will be permitted in the pool and pool area at a time (with maximal spacing in Lane 1 and Lane 8) and masks must be worn until entering the water.

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Events

• At present, in-person events (both indoor and outdoor) cannot exceed 15 attendees and all must follow College guidelines for masking and physical distancing. These numbers may change based on the College’s community health assessment, Federal, state, or public health guidance. Sign-in will be required at all in-person events to aid in contact tracing if needed. Gatherings of more than 15 attendees are allowed outside only as formally authorized.
• Attendance at indoor events may not exceed the occupancy of the space as determined by Facilities. No food or drink may be served.
• Campus in-person events are open to members of the Bi-Co community. No in-person events are open to the general public.
• Faculty and staff may review and reserve indoor and outdoor spaces for in-person events through the Office of Conferences and Events. A list and photos of spaces with current capacity and room configurations can be found on the office’s website. Attendance may not exceed the safe occupancy level that has been determined by the Facilities Office. As in the past, reservation requests can be made through EMS.
• Students who wish to host an event must fill out a request form and submit it to Mary Beth Horvath, Director of Student Activities, for review. Reserving space for approved student events will then follow the same procedures as faculty and staff events.
• Student organizations should also visit the Student Activities website to review student-specific event guidelines. 
• If you wish your virtual events to appear on the College’s event calendar, please use EMS to schedule them. This will also help you to avoid scheduling your virtual event at a time when many other virtual and in-person events are occurring.
• Dorm lounges and common rooms are reserved for residents; student club and organization in-person meetings are not permitted in dorm spaces. All students must follow the posted occupancy for all dorm common spaces. Common spaces can be used by a few students at a time for study, conversation, etc. as occupancy levels will be low. Other indoor and outdoor spaces on campus can be reserved for dorm events, and there is new furniture in many outdoor spaces; virtual events and meetings are also an option. 
• Whether in a dormitory or not, in-person resident gatherings and DLT events must adhere to the following guidelines:
  • Attendance may not exceed the occupancy of the space as determined by Facilities. This limit reflects the requirements for fresh-air exchange and physical distancing.
  • Physical distancing and masks are required.
  • No food or drink may be served.
  • Sign-in will be required at all DLT-sponsored events to aid in contact tracing if needed.
• Visiting speakers have always been important to the academic and community life of the College. Many departments and programs are planning to bring visitors to campus virtually this year, using tools like Zoom (e.g. Summer Science Research Fest, the Creative Writing Program’s Writers Series).  Please be sure to add virtual events that you are hosting to the College calendar via EMS. Information about captioning for virtual events can be found here. 
• The College will permit visitors in cases where their in-person engagement is essential to the success or impact of an academic or community program. Those wishing to host an in-person event must submit a request to the Office of Conferences and Events for review. Visitors must adhere to the guidelines that have been created to protect the health of both visitors and members of the community: symptom-checking, mandatory mask-wearing, physical distancing, and handwashing/use of hand sanitizer. Visitors must travel to campus by their own vehicle or by a professional car service with clear health and safety guidelines for drivers and cleaning procedures for vehicles.  Host departments or groups are responsible for ensuring that guests understand and abide by guidelines.
• The College will not offer rental of College spaces to outside groups until public health conditions change.

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Facilities

To ensure safety in all campus facilities, the College has:

• Changed all air filters and install MERV 13 filters or equivalent wherever possible.
• Increased air flow exchange rates in buildings, bringing fresh air into the building to the highest extent possible.
• In spaces without fresh air exchange, maximized ability to open windows. Located single-person activities or furniture storage in these spaces.
• Located classrooms and other activities that require in-person interaction in spaces with higher levels of fresh-air ventilation.
• Where indicated at points of service or high interaction, provided plexi-glass protection.
• Where advantageous/feasible, moved to hands-free operations.
• Provided Housekeeping with training on proper cleaning techniques. The College is following the CDC guidelines as well as guidance from medical professionals and professional organizations on proper techniques and cleaning products.
• Cleaning is focused on high-touch surfaces in shared spaces. These will be cleaned at least two times per day in addition to early in the morning.
• Provided the community with supplies and instruction to help with cleaning. Spray bottles and paper towels have been distributed to all departments and employees are encouraged to wipe down their high touch surfaces in the middle and at the end of the day, or when others have been in the space.
• Provided appropriate intense cleaning for impacted areas when the campus has a positive COVID-19 case.

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Beyond the Campus

Visitors

• Bryn Mawr College will treat Haverford as an extension of Bryn Mawr’s campus. Exchange between the campuses may be more limited due to safety considerations for the Blue Bus.
• The College will not permit outside visitors to campus from the general public to buildings, campus activities, and outside campus spaces.
• All admissions tours and information sessions will be suspended through the end of 2020 unless conditions materially change.
• For Fall 2020, students will not be able to take in-person classes at Penn or at Swarthmore and vice versa. Course registrations (in-person or remote) from non-Tri-Co students will not be permitted.
• Essential outside visitors (e.g., auditors, outside deliveries, contractors working on Facilities projects) will be allowed to come to campus. All visitors will be required to follow campus safety protocols.

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Travel

• All College-sponsored travel is canceled unless it is deemed essential and can be conducted in a low-risk manner (defined as individual car travel to an area that is not a COVID-19 hot spot and to engage in an activity where the traveler can abide by all College safety practices like masking and physical distancing).
• Study abroad has been canceled for the fall.
• Faculty and staff should limit all nonessential personal travel unless it involves no increased risk.
• Students will not travel back and forth from home unless they are commuting students.
• Faculty, students, and staff whose essential travel puts them at additional risk to COVID-19 exposure must quarantine for 14 days before returning to campus.
• Blue Buses will be limited to a smaller ridership to maintain safety.

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