Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
We hope everyone had a relaxing and rejuvenating winter break and we look forward to welcoming you back to campus next week.
Recognizing that we need to continue to adapt and learn to exist alongside a COVID-19 virus that is going to be a persistent factor in our lives for the foreseeable future, we are implementing the following protocols and providing the following recommendations to help us minimize the spread of the virus and provide us with the opportunity to have a safe, healthy, in-person and on-time start to our semester:
- Please get tested prior to returning to campus, if possible.
- On-campus COVID-19 PCR saliva testing is available and recommended for all students and faculty at the onset of the semester (Jan. 18-21), with testing for symptomatic and close contact individuals, as well as those representing the college through travel, available throughout the semester.
- Masks are required in instructional spaces such as classrooms and laboratories and in meetings with professors and college staff, and highly encouraged in all other indoor public spaces, both on and off-campus.
- Updated isolation protocols are in effect based on new CDC and LCPH guidance.
- Vaccinations and boosters are available throughout the Helena community.
- Practice common-sense health and safety measures – wash your hands often, monitor your health, stay home if sick, avoid crowds, clean and disinfect surfaces, and keep your circle small.
TESTING
Please get a test. If possible, you should get a COVID-19 test in your community within 5 days of returning to campus. If you test positive, please fill out the COVID Reporting Form and a member of the Carroll COVID Active Case Action Team (CACAT) will be in touch.
COVID-19 PCR saliva testing will also be available on campus at the Wellness Center beginning Tuesday, January 18.
January 18-21 testing times are as follows:
Wellness Center: Tuesday – Friday, January 18-21; 9 am - 11:15 am
Beginning January 24, ongoing testing will be available in the Wellness Center throughout the semester, Mondays and Tuesdays, 9 am to 11 am. Testing will be available for symptomatic and close contact individuals as well as those representing the college through travel (i.e. work, conferences, fundraising, recruiting, and athletic events). If you need a test outside of these times, please contact the Wellness Center, 406-447-5441.
There is also free testing available throughout the Helena community. See Community Resources below for information.
MASKS
Masks will continue to be required in instructional spaces such as classrooms and laboratories and in all meetings with professors and college staff, and are highly encouraged in all other indoor public spaces. Omicron, while less severe than other variants, is the most contagious variant thus far and proper mask usage has been proven to be one of the most effective methods to contain transmission of the virus.
Faculty, staff, and student employees will need to comply with the face-covering policies set forth in the OSHA/ETS regulations communicated in a separate email. As stated in the email, Carroll College is closely monitoring legal developments concerning the ETS, including the U.S. Supreme Court's consideration of an expedited appeal concerning the ETS. Carroll College's COVID-19 policies, as they pertain to employees, may change in response to those legal developments.
ISOLATION PROTOCOLS
Carroll has updated their isolation protocols based on new guidance from the CDC. The new protocols per Lewis & Clark Public Health are as follows:
If You Are COVID-19 Positive
If you receive test results and are positive for COVID-19, immediately fill out the COVID Reporting Form. Filling this out is the fastest way to get the resources and information you need to complete your isolation period. It is important you use your Carroll College email so that communication is secure and timely.
If you test positive for COVID-19 (regardless of vaccination status):
- Stay home/isolate for 5 days and contact your medical provider for treatment options.
- Do not visit public spaces except to get tested or if you are seeking healthcare. Maintain at least 6 feet from others, and wear a well-fitting, multi-layered mask around others in your living area.
- After 5 days, if you have NO symptoms, or your symptoms are resolving (no fever for 24 hours without medicine), then you can be released from isolation.
- If you have a fever, continue to stay home until the fever resolves.
- Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days (days 6-10)
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Vaccination Locations:
There are multiple vaccine locations in the Helena community. Appointments are required. One of the most convenient for our students is the CVS pharmacy just across Benton Avenue in the Lundy Center. Follow this link for information.
St. Peter’s Health also has a vaccination clinic at St. Peter’s Health Medical Group – Broadway Clinic, 2550 Broadway St. Follow this link for information.
For additional vaccination opportunities in Helena, please visit the Lewis and Clark County vaccine distribution page.
Remember to bring:
- Photo ID
- Your insurance card
- Your CDC vaccination card if it is your 2nd dose or booster
If you have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccines, contact your healthcare provider, our Wellness Center, or we can put you in touch with several of our Carroll College Board of Trustee members who are physicians in the Helena community.
Testing Locations:
There is a Community COVID-19 Testing Clinic available at the fairgrounds, 98 W Custer Ave, Monday – Friday, 10 am – 3 pm for symptomatic and close contact individuals.
This clinic offers free, drive-thru, rapid antigen (non-travel) COVID-19 tests for community members. Appointments are encouraged, but any symptomatic individual is urged to drop in at the clinic. Appointments are available at 833-829-9219, or at this link and going to the "Testing/Contact Tracing" tab, and are released approximately one day in advance on a rolling basis. For more information, please visit, www.lccountymt.gov/health/
For additional testing sites in Helena, please visit the Lewis and Clark County vaccine and testing locations page.
These are our protocols as they stand today and are subject to change at any point. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue to monitor the situation as well as the recommendations of our local, state, and federal health professionals in determining our best and most feasible courses of action in keeping our campus safe, healthy, and in person.
Any questions you have can be directed to the covid19@carroll.edu account.
Thank you and we look forward to your return,
The Marching Forward Team