Updates: COVID-19 Isolation/Quarantine Guidelines

Jan. 11, 2022

Dear Andrews University community,

A warm welcome (even amidst these winter snows and cold) to each one of you as we begin a new semester on our Berrien Springs campus.

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) and Berrien County Health Department (BCHD) are implementing significant changes in the recommended time frames for COVID-19 isolation and quarantine. Those changes are also informed by updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You can review the CDC changes for K–12 schools in their isolation and quarantine guidelines (which Andrews University will follow), and additional information on the rationale behind these changes in approach, at those links.

Please also note that the new COVID-19 guidelines continue to emphasize that it is ideal for individuals to be up-to-date with vaccinations. For those who have previously been vaccinated, this now means making sure boosters are also taken at the appropriate time. If you haven’t documented your COVID-19 vaccinations yet, please take a moment to upload your COVID-19 vaccination information, including boosters, at this link.

The primary change in approach for the Andrews University community is in the recommended isolation or quarantine time frames. For those who are without symptoms for at least 24 hours at day five of isolation or quarantine, the time frame will shift from ten (10) to five (5) days. Beginning today, the University will make and communicate that change in isolation and quarantine time frames for specific University employees and students who are currently in, or who will require, isolation or quarantine.

We will continue our University case management protocol to ask all individuals who have not been fully vaccinated to quarantine following close contact with a positive case.

Additionally, depending on the timing of an individual’s COVID-19 vaccinations, COVID-19 case managers may also ask those individuals to quarantine if they have had extended or significant contact with a positive case.

In either case, you should not end isolation or quarantine until you’ve been advised to do so by your COVID-19 case manager.

As we experience and implement these changing expectations, we’d like to again offer our significant thanks for your shared commitment to keeping our University community as safe and healthy as possible.

Sincerely,

Andrea Luxton
President

Christon Arthur
Provost