Changes in Operations, Opening with Caution
To: North Carolina A&T Students
From: Harold L. Martin, Sr., Chancellor
Date: Febrary 8, 2021
Now two weeks into the Spring Semester, I’m pleased to report that, once again, thanks to your strong attention to prevention measures and compliance with testing direction, we are off to another very good start, with positive rates well below 2 percent for the recent testing periods. Keep it up! We expect to complete a second-consecutive semester without significant incidence of COVID if we continue this level of diligence and attention to the 3 Ws – washing hands regularly, wearing a mask and waiting in line with appropriate distancing.
Next week, North Carolina A&T will open its own vaccination clinic, and in keeping with state guidelines, will begin to vaccinate A&T staff, faculty and students who fall within the first two approved groups: 1) Health care workers and long-term care facility staff and residents, and 2) Individuals 65 and older, regardless of health status or other circumstances. We will be prepared to provide first inoculations for 200 individuals on Thursday. We will be prepared to expand vaccinations, assuming vaccine supplies enable us to do so. Appointments will be required, and individuals interested in being scheduled should sign up online.
With the positivity rate and number of new cases on the decline both on campus and in surrounding areas and vaccination underway, we will tentatively begin to ease some campus restrictions this week on in-person services and gatherings. As we do so, we implore all students, faculty and staff to exercise appropriate caution so that we do not find ourselves having to re-implement more stringent restrictions later. The start date for all of the changes summarized below is Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Campus Dining
Limited in-person campus dining will resume in Williams Dining Hall and Student Center eateries with seating limited to 50 percent of each restaurant and dining hall’s capacity. When capacity is reached, additional persons will only be allowed after some diners have left and their eating areas have been sanitized.
We will not restore self-service options, at this point. In restaurants and dining areas such as Williams Dining Hall, staff attendants will serve your food selections to minimize any possibilities of spreading the virus.
Housing and Visitation
Visitation in residence halls will be limited to the residence hall students and only in the commons areas. No non-residence hall visitors, including family members, will be allowed at this time.
We will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 in our community and on our campus and consider revisions to visitation privileges as the semester progresses.
Activities
The game and video rooms at the Student Center will be reopened. Occupancy in each will be limited to 10 students at a time. This will mean that each student’s time in these facilities will be limited to ensure that all who desire to do so will have an opportunity to use them.
The Campus Recreation Center is also being re-opened. Equipment and workout stations have been arranged to provide for adequate social distancing. The yoga room, dance studio and locker rooms will remain closed, and water fountains will remain turned off. Individuals are encouraged to bring their own water bottles, as well as their own towels for personal use. Persons using the facility will enter through the traditional center entrance and exit through a different door to protect everyone.
Each student using the facility will undergo a digital thermometer scan before they enter. Persons using the facility will also be required to sign up online for specific workout times to enable center staff to manage the number of individuals in the center at any given time.
Finally, for all athletic events, for example, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and other spring spectator sports, attendance will be limited to allow for appropriate levels of social distancing. The Department of Athletics will be communicating these event limitations this week.
As you recall, football along with several sports, was canceled by the MEAC during Fall 2020. An abbreviated, four-game football season will be held this spring with two home games and two away games. For home games, capacity at Truist Stadium will be limited to 1,300. Expect additional detail about tickets and attendance as we get closer to the first home game, against South Carolina State, on February 27. A MEAC championship game is scheduled for April 17.
Just as the pandemic has caused us all to make adjustments in our lives, we have had to make adjustments here at North Carolina A&T to keep us all safe and healthy. While this will be a process, one with careful checks and balances along the way, I am delighted that soon we will be able to begin to create an environment that helps to enhance your educational experiences during the spring semester. Your continued discipline and diligence are important to our success.
Let’s work together to make this a successful semester for us all. Thank you.
