Spring 2022

As the world turned upside down from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Moravian community has stepped up to "Protect the Pack." Since the spring of 2020 the faculty and staff at Moravian University have worked tirelessly to deliver the Moravian experience to all of our students, both in and out of the classroom. Thankfully, Moravian has invested nearly $2 million dollars to improve the online education experience, and with dozens of Apple Certified Teachers, we are continuing to deliver a robust educational experience in online environments. Through the generosity of alumni and other benefactors, Moravian University continues awarding financial aid to students in need and this generosity continues at an unprecedented rate, even throughout this crisis.

Spring 2022 (Updated March 11, 2022)

Moravian University announced a shift to a mask optional policy as of Sunday, March 6, 2022 based on current trends and guidance from St. Luke's University Health Network.

Please be aware of following exceptions:

• Health care clinical settings where wearing a mask is required
• Moravian University Campus Health Center (or any medical office, or clinical field work site)
• If you: 
  • Have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 (even if vaccinated)
  • Are instructed to wear a mask by a healthcare provider
  • Feel ill with upper respiratory symptoms
  • Are COVID-positive, and isolated
• Masking will still be required on our campus shuttles to comply with a federal mandate by TSA and CDC recommendations. All students should continue to carry a mask to class as faculty members may require masking because of health concerns in a particular classroom. 
• For those concerned about their health, making sure you are fully vaccinated (including boosted) and wearing a N95/KN95 mask will provide the greatest protection against infection.  

Moravian University will continue to support all members of our community who choose to wear a mask. The University will continue updating the COVID-19 dashboard, testing of student athletes, and testing of symptomatic students in our University Health Center. No other aspects of our current COVID-19 plan are changing at this time.

Students returning to campus (Updated January 7, 2022):

Visit the COVID-19 Dashboard for the most up-to-date information.

Moravian has been, and will continue to review recommendations from the PA Department of Health, the CDC, and the American College Health Association regarding COVID-19 protocols for colleges and universities as we return to campus for the spring 2022 semester. As such, we will expect:

• Unvaccinated residential students will not need to provide evidence of a PCR test before arriving on campus. 
• Unvaccinated residential students will not be tested weekly in the Health Center. 
  • We did surveillance testing for this population for 16 weeks in the fall 2021 semester, and it only identified three cases of COVID-19. We provided 719 tests during this surveillance resulting in a 0.4% positivity rate. Based on our own data and the guidance of leading health experts, we are focusing our efforts on supporting symptomatic students this spring instead of surveillance testing.
• Athletes should continue to follow the protocols as mandated by the NCAA and Landmark Conference. Coaches and athletic department leadership will continue to communicate expectations!
• We will begin the semester with regular dining operations and options. If the community spread of COVID-19 is rampant, we may need to switch to take-out only. Please do your part in keeping our campus safe!
• Residence halls will open as usual without restrictions. Again, this could change based on community spread - you control your living environment by making smart choices!
• Booster shots will not be required to be considered “vaccinated” on our campus for the spring 2022 semester. Athletes may have different expectations based on Landmark/NCAA guidelines. 
• Based on CDC guidelines and with support from St. Luke’s, we are shortening our isolation period for residential students. 
• After isolating for 5 days, a student without symptoms/fever may leave isolation with a negative test result. 

For any questions about returning to residence halls, please contact housing@moravian.edu.

If you have any questions regarding the COVID-19 tests, please contact the Health Center (healthcenter@moravian.edu).

January 7, 2022 update for faculty and staff:

Employees with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter (masks should be worn in any campus building unless eating). The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to the onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.

Additionally, the CDC has updated the recommended quarantine period for anyone in the general public who is exposed to COVID-19. For people who are unvaccinated or are more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and not yet boosted, CDC now recommends quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days. Alternatively, if a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure. Individuals who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following exposure but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure.  For all those exposed, best practice would also include a test for SARS-CoV-2 at day 5 after exposure. If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.

According to our partners at St. Luke’s, our classrooms, when faculty and students are masked, are the safest locations on campus. Please keep yourself safe by wearing a surgical or KN95 mask.

We have options for remote working, check with your supervisor with any questions.  Our employees are our most vulnerable population on campus (based solely on age). As the Omicron variant continues to be prevalent in the Lehigh Valley, we encourage employees to spend another week away from campus so that we may all be in person when our students return.

For any additional questions about sharing your vaccination status or any other COVID-related inquiries, please visit the Moravian University Health Center website.

Managing classroom and campus life during COVID-19