CoronavirusAlert Levels

Alert Levels

Washington College has developed a set of Alert Levels that will be used to determine College operations throughout the semester. The Alert Level will be evaluated on a daily basis and updated as needed, based on the data from a key set of indicators. These indicators will track key metrics that can quickly detect changes or trends on our campus and in the surrounding community.

The current alert level will be displayed on our Dashboard. This will then be used to guide College operations.

The Alert Levels are defined as follows:

gus green

GREEN – Campus is considered safe and stable and should continue with all COVID prevention best practices. All students, faculty and staff should continue to observe standard safety measures such as physical distancing, face coverings and symptom attestation, but some in-person operations are approved following the de-densified guidelines. 

At the Green Alert Level, the WC Community should:

  • Continue to follow all health and safety protocols, which include
  • Using the emocha app daily
  • Continuing to wear face masks both indoors and outdoors
  • Continuing to observe social distancing (6’ or more apart) both indoors and outdoors
gus yellow

YELLOW – Campus is on alert that risk factors are trending higher. This does not mean that the virus is uncontrolled, but it does mean that counts are trending in the wrong direction and it’s time to increase compliance to our health and safety protocols. Failure to do so will likely necessitate heightened campus restrictions. A Yellow Alert may also indicate that one specific critical area of operations – such as Dining Services or Health Services – has been impacted.

At the Yellow Alert Level, the WC Community should:

  • Use the emocha app daily
  • Continue to wear face masks both indoors and outdoors
  • Continue to observe social distancing (6’ or more apart) both indoors and outdoors
gus orange

ORANGE – Campus is reaching a threshold that requires stricter intervention. An Orange Alert may indicate that we are close to capacity in our Quarantine & Isolation space or a surge in positive cases.

At the Orange Alert Level, the WC Community should:

  • Use the emocha app daily
  • Be diligent about social distancing, mask-wearing and spending only the necessary time with in-person face-to-face interactions
  • Continue to wear face masks both indoors and outdoors
  • Continue to observe social distancing (6’ or more apart) both indoors and outdoors
  • Consider substituting virtual classes meetings and gatherings in place of in-person/face-to-face interactions
  • Increase outside airflow and surface-cleaning of high-touch surfaces
gus red

RED - Campus is effectively locked down to essential activities only. Students living on campus should follow quarantine-in-place protocols. No in-person instruction. Dining Services is Grab & Go only.

At a Red Alert Level, the WC Community should:

  • Restrict activities to only those things that are essential
  • Renew their commitment to following our health and safety protocols

 Other Resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Resources https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

State of Maryland COVID-19 Resources https://governor.maryland.gov/coronavirus/