The College of Charleston community received the following message on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, regarding campus quarantine and isolation protocols:

Dear Campus Community,

We are happy to share a positive trend we are seeing, both here on campus and across the country. The latest medical evidence continues to suggest thatย while perhapsย more transmissible,ย the Omicron variant generally causes less harmful symptoms and cases. The majority ofย our students and employees infected by COVID-19 since January 1, 2022, have reported experiencing no symptoms or a mild case, which is due in large part to the fact that nearly 80 percent of our students are fully vaccinated.

In theย spiritย of continual adaptation in our approach to COVID-19ย and given the current environment presented byย the Omicron variant, the College is making some changes toย itsย quarantine and isolation protocols.

Our number-one priority remains the health and wellbeing of our entire campus community. These updated protocols are in alignment with guidance from the Centers for Disease Controlย and Prevention, the S.C.ย Department of Health and Environmental Controlย andย the American College Health Associationย and areย alsoย in line withย adjustments recently made by other universities:ย 

  • All students and employees who test positive are responsible for notifying their close contacts about their exposure.ย 
    • Remember: Those who have tested positive, regardless of vaccination status, must stillย isolate away from campus for 5 days (this particular isolationย protocol has not changed).ย ย 
  • All students and employees who self-report a positive case or self-report aย close contact of a positive case will continue receiving communicationย with directions for isolation or quarantineย proceduresย from our campus contact-tracing team.ย ย 
  • Only asymptomatic close contacts can be present on campus. If you have symptoms, you must test prior to circulating on campus to ensure you are not positive for COVID-19. Even if you test negative, you MUST wear a well-fitted mask for 10 days post-exposure anytime you are around others.ย 

Please refer to this earlier message from the College for more details about quarantine and isolation protocols and other guidelines for the Spring โ€™22 semester.

The bestย way to continue to protect yourself and others from the impacts of COVID-19 is to get vaccinated and boosted, which you can continue to do through weeklyย clinics on campus.ย 

Sincerely,

CofC COVID-19 Leadership Teamย