Oklahoma City University lowered the COVID-19 campus alert level to moderate.
OCU’s Emergency Operations Committee released an email through the OCU Communications Office on Wednesday, Feb. 10, stating that the alert level had been adjusted to moderate. The alert level was previously on high, which was set on Nov. 17 last semester and continued through to the spring 2021 semester.
“The transition to the moderate alert level is based on a number of factors including the sustained declining trend of new daily positive cases and hospitalizations in the surrounding community,” the email read. “Additionally, compliance with OCU health and safety protocol in the campus community is high, keeping on-campus transmission of the virus relatively low.”
According to the OCU website, which at time of publication was updated on Feb. 11, the total cases of COVID-19 recorded directly and indirectly on campus is six, with 36 people currently in quarantine and self-isolation.
Some of the new regulations for the moderate level mentioned on the email include a class/university sponsored events attendance limit of 50 people, a limit of 25 people for general gatherings, students living on campus being allowed to have one guest per person, not allowing guests from off campus and reopening the Aduddell Fitness Center and Dulaney-Browne Library for walk-in service.
Joey Croslin, vice president for Human Resources and EOC manager for the COVID-19 emergency operations center, said the alert level system was put into place to provide the campus community with a framework of how the university would run based on the activity of COVID-19 on the campus and in the surrounding community. One of the key factors in lowering the alert level was the campus community’s compliance with the OCU’s COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, Croslin said.
“Wearing our mask properly, social distancing, avoiding large crowds, staying home when you’re sick and staying away from others, those things are what keep our campus safe,” Croslin said. “And our compliance as a campus community overall with those safety protocols really help us keep transmission low on campus.”
Croslin said the COVID-19 vaccine currently being rolled out by the U.S. Government did not factor into the decision to lower the alert level. Croslin said that OCU is starting to plan for vaccine distribution on campus once OCU is given access to the vaccine.
“We’re in the planning stages of that, and we’re kind of limited in what we can do because the health departments are limited in what they know,” Croslin said. “When vaccine becomes available for distribution in stage three, which would include most universities, then we would be prepared to provide vaccines to our campus community through our Push Partner Program with the Oklahoma City County Health Department”
Cameron Hawkins, film junior, said he thought OCU lowering the alert level felt quick.
“They just recently had been like ‘no guests, no guests, no guests,’” Hawkins said. “And then it was back to normal and I was like ‘oh, ok,’ but I also haven’t been keeping up with how COVID’s been doing, so maybe it is better.”
Hawkins said he doesn’t think the alert level will stay moderate for very long due to how unpredictable COVID-19 has been over the past year.
“I’m sure it will eventually go back to orange,” Hawkins said. “Because one day I hear it’s going really good, and then one day I hear it’s going really bad.”
Keegan Johnston, design and production sophomore, said he was surprised that the alert level changed.
“What I wasn’t sure about was what has changed,” Johnston said. “I know the reasoning is because of the local area and the hospital numbers and stuff, and it’s not something I’ve had the time to look into specifically, but I was wondering if there was a specific reason that they made that decision.”
Johnston said the monthly surveillance testing OCU implemented has one major oversight.
“With their testing they’ve been having us do, in many cases, people who live off campus have been exempted from those testings, and I don’t think that’s right. Especially because they travel to and from school everyday, and they are, in theory, out and about much more than the student on campus,” Johnston said.
Croslin said in the midst of the vaccine distribution and the amount of cases of campus being low, students, faculty and staff should not let their guard down in following the safety protocols.
For more information about COVID-19 guidelines at OCU, visit the OCU website’s page on COVID-19.
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