Campus Update – Matrix Scoring, Community Expectations

The university remains at an ELEVATED risk despite recent improvements. New daily cases, hospitalizations and positivity rates remain elevated locally. The CDC COVID Data Tracker classifies Pitt County and our campus as areas of high community transmission and recommends that everyone wear a mask in public, indoor settings. A point of great pride is our campus vaccination rate. Students lead the way at 91% and employees at 88% vaccinated for a total campus vaccination rate of 90%, which is well beyond our original expectations.

After experiencing the largest surge in new COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic at the beginning of the semester, the number of new cases on our campus has been declining significantly since mid-January. Campus cases per week declined 68% (from 1,100 to 349 cases) over the last 14 days. New cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. and N.C. are also declining. While hospitalizations are starting to decline locally at Vidant Medical Center, hospital capacity is still strained. Since the start of the semester, the campus positivity rate declined from more than 30% to 11%, but remains above the pandemic target of 5% or less. North Carolina and Pitt County positivity rates remain above 25%.

Despite great progress, we have not reached the finish line, yet. The Omicron variant is very contagious but fortunately not as pathogenic as the Delta variant. However, a new subvariant of Omicron (BA.2) has been identified in our state. With that in mind, we must continue mask wearing and staying home when sick. Mask wearing, gathering guidance and other community standards will be re-evaluated Feb. 15 and updated as needed based on key risk criteria.

When sick, stay home from work or class. Students should fill out the COVID-19 Self Reporting Form in Pirate Port and notify their instructor; employees should notify their supervisor. With Omicron’s shorter incubation and infectious period, the CDC has announced updated guidance on isolation and quarantine procedures. The ECU quarantine/isolation decision chart is an easy guide for students and employees to follow.

Vaccination and boosters are strongly encouraged as our best defense against severe symptoms and hospitalization. The vaccine alone cannot stop the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant so mask wearing remains a key component of our strategy to slow the spread and reduce hospitalizations. The vaccine has been shown to lessen the severity of symptoms and reduce hospitalizations, especially when combined with booster shots. Together, these strategies are helping us support our health care heroes during a time when they are extremely tired from this long pandemic fight and still dealing with high patient loads.

The CDC and NCDHHS guidelines recommend wearing well-fitting, high-quality face coverings with two or more layers. A cloth face covering with two or more layers or disposable, 3-ply medical masks, like the ones supplied by the university, meet these requirements. For greater protection, the campus community is encouraged to wear one disposable, 3-ply medical mask underneath a cloth mask, if it does not impact fit or seal on the face. Multi-layered cloth face coverings and disposable medical masks are available (free of charge) at the student center information desks on both campuses. Departments can order masks from the Medical Storeroom through PORT.

I am so impressed and proud of our progress and effort through this two-year pandemic. We have exceeded all expectations with vaccinations and mask wearing, but we must keep pushing to the finish. We expect the Omicron surge to continue to decline rapidly over the coming weeks with a possible slight increase due to the new subvariant. This is not expected to be a significant setback. A sharp decline in cases should follow with better days expected in the warmth of spring.

Our struggle is not over yet, so remain steadfast, wear a mask and stay the course!

— Bill Koch, Associate Vice Chancellor, Campus Safety & Auxiliary Services, Co-Chair, COVID Coordination Committee