Trinity’s COVID Cases Surge to 25, Campus Alert Level Changes to Yellow

Jack P. Carroll ’24

News Editor

Chief of Staff Jason Rojas and Vice President for Student Success and Enrollment Management Joe DiChristina reported that Trinity’s Covid-19 case count has risen to 25 active cases (23 students, 2 staff) in an email addressed to students, faculty, and staff on Wednesday, Mar. 31. This number comes after the College processed Tuesday’s test results; Rojas and DiChristina indicated that “Some of the new cases were among students who were already in quarantine due to exposure to other cases.” This increase constitutes the largest spike in cases since the start of the spring semester.

These rising numbers are a part of an upward trend in cases that has occurred over the course of the past few days. The Tripod previously reported that the College’s Covid-19 Dashboard recorded a total of 11 active cases (8 students, 3 staff) as of Monday, Mar. 29. Thereafter, Rojas reported that the case count had risen to 17 (15 students, 2 staff) in an email to the campus community on Tuesday, Mar. 30.

There has been an upward trend in the positive rate of COVID tests, with a sharp spike to approximately 0.70% for the week of Mar. 29. Note that there is a smaller sample size for the week of Mar. 29. *Courtesy of Daniel Nesbitt ’22.*

Responding to this week’s surge, Rojas announced that the campus alert level changed to yellow and that this change would remain in effect from Wednesday, Mar. 31 through the end of the day on Monday, Apr. 5. Rojas previously stated that the College would not be changing the alert level in his Tuesday email. Instead, Rojas encouraged students at the time to “continue to follow the guidelines on gatherings, wear masks, and maintain social distancing so we can mitigate the spread of the virus within our community.”

Under a yellow campus alert level, dining is grab-and-go only; student residence hall access is limited to their own floors only, and common areas are closed; students who live off-campus are not permitted in residence halls and vice versa. In addition, athletics events (games and practices) are canceled; organized, supervised student activities are limited to 10 participants; and unsupervised gatherings outdoors are limited to 6 participants.

Furthermore, Rojas and DiChristina noted that the College will operate at a green alert level for “all other operations and protocols” (e.g., dining in Mather Hall, work-related/study-related travel, pre-approved visitors, etc.). Also, off-campus travel remains limited to essential and approved purposes only.

The Tripod could not immediately reach Rojas for comment.