Kristina M. Johnson, PhD, President | November 15, 2020
Dear Ohio State Community:
As we approach the end of the semester, I would like to thank our students, faculty and staff for coming together to keep our campuses open this fall. It hasn’t been easy to follow all of the guidelines such as wearing a mask, staying physically distant and forgoing many of the activities and events that are part of the experience of being a Buckeye.
I am writing to you this Sunday to express both my appreciation for your efforts and support, and to share our campus-departure guidelines for the winter break. We provide these...
Dear Buckeye, For most of the semester, we have come together as a community to fight the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses. This becomes increasingly difficult as our statewide and local reported cases increase. If you take a look at our Ohio State COVID-19 dashboard, you will see our daily student positivity rates have quadrupled over the past two weeks. Every day on campus I see many students, staff and faculty members following the university’s safe and healthy requirements. Yet there is also behavior that is, quite frankly, irresponsible, disappointing and could be contributing to a rise in COVID-19...
Dear Ohio State Community: We have reached a critical moment in our battle against COVID-19. We have all worked hard to remain on campus to learn, teach, advance research and scholarship, and be Together As Buckeyes. Our collective commitment and spirit to slow the spread of this dangerous virus has been commendable. But COVID-19 is a formidable opponent, and now we need to dig deeper. Ohio, like many states across the nation, is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Today, a record 7,101 new cases were reported in the state in a 24-hour period. That is 600 cases...
Dear Student Leaders: As you may be aware, the COVID positivity rates in our university community and throughout the state have been steadily increasing for the last several weeks. We indicated in our last communication about events and gatherings that we would continue to monitor the situation and pause or make other adaptations as needed. As we near the point in the semester where in-person instruction will be ending and students will be moving away from campus, we must all exercise an abundance of caution to contain the spread of the virus. Effective immediately, all in-person student organization gatherings, events...
Kristina M. Johnson, PhD, President | November 9, 2020
We continue to monitor our COVID-19 positivity rates, and we are concerned that student positivity rates have ticked up slightly in recent days. Overall, the seven-day average student positivity rate is 1.94% while the on-campus and off-campus rates are 1.46% and 2.00%, respectively.
Gladys M. Gibbs, MD, MS Director, Student Life Student Health Services | November 6, 2020
Dear Buckeye, As we move into our final weeks of the semester amid rising cases of COVID-19 throughout Ohio and the nation, it’s more important than ever that we stay Together as Buckeyes and continue to do all we can to fight the spread of the virus. We must act not only for ourselves and our campus community, but for the health and safety of friends and family we may be visiting in the coming weeks. Increases in COVID-19 cases in surrounding communities and throughout the state are growing more concerning by the day. We’ve also found evidence of rising...
Kristina M. Johnson, PhD President | November 6, 2020
Dear Buckeyes: Autumn commencement is right around the corner. While these are challenging and uncertain times, your graduation from this storied institution is still a remarkable achievement. Congratulations! We are proud of you and look forward to celebrating the Class of 2020. In October, Franklin County moved from orange to red in the Ohio Public Health Advisory System, and gatherings in Ohio continue to be limited to 10 or fewer people. With these precautions in mind, we will celebrate your accomplishments during a virtual commencement on Sunday, December 13, 2020, at 2 p.m. The event will be livestreamed and shared...
We’re almost there – all of your hard work and following the safe and healthy requirements has gotten us this far. Let’s keep it up and finish strong. As we enter the last few weeks of the semester, it is important for you to start preparing now for your Thanksgiving and Winter Break plans. With COVID-19 continuing to be a global pandemic, here are some things you need to know:
COVID-19 testing before Thanksgiving break
The university’s surveillance testing program for off-campus students will continue through the week of November 16. We encourage students to...
Melissa S. Shivers, PhD and Jay Kasey | October 29, 2020
Dear Students:
We are entering what promises to be another exciting weekend. While we all want to enjoy ourselves, please remember to stay safe and healthy and recognize that our gatherings must look different as a result of the ongoing coronavirus threat.
We strongly encourage our entire Buckeye family to make every game a "home" game , whether you watch from your residence hall or your house off-campus. We must continue to prioritize the safety of our fellow Buckeyes by limiting gatherings to 10 people or less, wearing masks and practicing physical distancing.
Kristina M. Johnson, PhD, President | October 27, 2020
The seven-day average positivity rate for all students is at .88%. On campus, the seven-day average rate is .64% while the off-campus rate is 1.25%. We have expanded our testing efforts to approximately 18,000 each week, and have conducted more than 165,000 tests overall .
Last week, Ohio State’s Comprehensive Monitoring Team issued its initial report on ongoing data analysis designed to stem the spread of infection. The report observed that the reproduction number (Rt) has remained stable, primarily below 1, which is an indicator that the epidemic may be slowing....
