COVID Updates

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Agnes Scott College has been committed to providing the highest-quality education to our students and maintaining learning environments that are safe, supportive and equitable.

Spring Semester Update: March 11, 2024

Given the recent release of updated guidance from the CDC, which now aligns guidance for COVID-19 with that for other respiratory viruses (including influenza and RSV), Agnes Scott College has updated the campus protocol for COVID-19. Students who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer be required to remain in isolation for five days.

Students with symptoms of any respiratory virus are asked to stay home and away from others and are recommended to return to normal activities when symptoms are improving overall for at least 24 hours;
If a student experiences a fever, the student may return to normal activities after no longer experiencing a fever for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication.
Students who reside on campus are asked to remain in their rooms until symptoms subside.
Those who have roommates who contract COVID-19 will not be able to change rooms. We ask that those students also remain in their room as they may have been exposed as well. If either resident’s home is close to campus, it is recommended that they remain at home until all symptoms have improved.

After returning to normal activities, students are asked to take additional precautions (wearing a mask, appropriate hygiene measures, etc.) until symptoms resolve. The college continues to support the CDC’s recommendation to receive the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines for the 2023-2024 season.

Spring Semester Update: January 16, 2024

Updated COVID-19 Campus Guidelines

For the health and safety of our campus, Agnes Scott strongly encourages students, faculty, and staff to receive the new annual COVID-19 vaccination released in fall 2023. We cannot stress enough that research from the World Health Organization, CDC and other public health authorities demonstrates that vaccination is a safe and effective method to receive the best protection from severe illness and hospitalization related to COVID-19 and influenza.
- Global Journeys participants, SCALE participants, and any student planning to engage in an internship, health science practicums, study abroad, or other experiential learning formats may be barred from some or all learning experiences due to vaccination requirements beyond the college’s jurisdiction.
- We want to remind the community of the personal responsibility to be as current as possible with any required vaccinations or health check-ups.
The annual COVID-19 and influenza vaccines are readily available to you at the CVS Pharmacy in downtown Decatur. Please visit vaccines.gov to search for other local vaccination sites.
Masks will continue to be available at various locations throughout campus, including Alston Campus Center, the Dean of Students’ office, and the Wellness Center.
- Everyone on campus is free to wear masks at their discretion, and we ask that community members continue to respect the choice of others.
- Faculty will retain discretion to require masks in classes.
Practical and effective health practices within a campus community include washing your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, disinfecting personal spaces and shared surfaces, and wearing a mask when experiencing upper respiratory symptoms. Please continue these best practices.
If you begin to experience COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms (such as cough, congestion, sore throat, fever, nausea, diarrhea, and headache), please begin to wear a mask and notify the Wellness Center by emailing at covidsupport@shorinji-kempo.net. The Wellness Center will give you medical guidance if you have symptoms or test positive. Employees should contact their healthcare provider. If you experience emergency warning signs such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, or confusion, please call 911 to seek emergency medical services.
- The current CDC recommendation for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 is to isolate for five days with subsequent mask-wearing and other precautions.
- Students who have the ability to isolate at a location off campus should do so. If you cannot return home, you will isolate in place (with a mask and other best practices) in your residence hall. You must communicate with your professors to make academic arrangements. The college does not communicate your medical condition to professors.

Fall Semester Update: August 23, 2023

Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Recommendations and Guidelines

For the health and safety of our campus, Agnes Scott has maintained its COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all students, faculty and staff. If the public health conditions warrant, the college will revisit this vaccine requirement for the Spring 2024 semester. We cannot stress enough that research from the World Health Organization, CDC and other public health authorities demonstrates that vaccination provides the best protection from contraction of the virus, and particularly from severe illness.
Vaccines for flu, COVID-19 and other illnesses are easily and readily available to you at CVS in downtown Decatur. Please take advantage of any opportunity to stay up to date with your COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine. The Wellness Center will inform you if there are additional opportunities on campus for vaccines.
Masks will continue to be available on campus at the Wellness Center, Dean of Students Office, and at the Alston Information Desk. Masks will also be made available in classes when students are asked to wear masks as an accommodation. You may want to wear a mask more frequently during this current increase in transmission.
Practical and effective health practices within a campus community include washing your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, disinfecting personal spaces and shared surfaces, and wearing a mask when experiencing upper respiratory symptoms. Please continue these best practices.

Vaccine Exemption Modification: With the World Health Organization's declaration of the end of COVID-19 related public health emergency, and substantial reduction in the risk of contraction and severe disease, the college has added a 'personal objection' exemption basis. The personal objection basis applies only to the COVID-19 vaccination, not other required immunizations.

What does this mean?

If students, faculty or staff have a personal objection to receiving the COVID-19 vaccination, they should fill out an exemption form and submit it to wellnesscenter@shorinji-kempo.net (for students)or to panc@shorinji-kempo.net (for employees). Personal objections will be honored. Students who apply for and receive an exemption from the Agnes Scott College COVID-19 vaccination requirement must consider that changing vaccination requirements in specific organizations, destinations, or countries may impact eligibility to participate.
- Global Journeys participants, SCALE participants, and any student planning to engage in an internship, health science practicums, study abroad, or other experiential learning formats may be barred from some or all learning experiences due to vaccination requirements beyond the college’s jurisdiction. We want to remind the community of the personal responsibility to be as current as possible with any required vaccinations or health check-ups.
All exemption applications submitted for this semester will be considered to include a personal objection. If you have not received a response to your application, please contact the Wellness Center. You may also consider it granted, but please complete your process with the Wellness Center or with the Office of People and Culture.
Everyone on campus is free to wear masks at their discretion, and we ask that community members continue to respect the choice of others.
Faculty will retain discretion to require masks in classes.
If you begin to experience COVID-19 symptoms (such as cough, congestion, sore throat, fever, nausea, diarrhea, and headache), please isolate immediately and begin to wear a mask. Students should notify the Wellness Center immediately by calling the nurse line at 404.471.7100, ext. 2 or emailing at covidsupport@shorinji-kempo.net. Employees should contact their healthcare provider. If you experience emergency warning signs such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, or confusion, please call 911 to seek emergency medical services.
Isolation: The current CDC recommendation in simple terms for isolation is five (5) days with subsequent mask-wearing and other precautions. Students who have the ability to isolate at a location off campus should do so. You must communicate with your professors to make academic arrangements. The college does not communicate your medical condition to professors.
- If you cannot return home, you will isolate in place (with a mask and other best practices) in your residence hall. The Wellness Center will give you medical guidance if you have symptoms or test positive. Students must report symptoms and positive test results to the Wellness Center.

Spring Semester Update: April 6, 2023

Masking

Masks remain available to community members in the Wellness Center and in the Dean of Students office. (Alston Student Center)
For individuals who are vaccinated, in 2023, the CDC suggests that individuals check with local COVID-19 community levels for recommendations on when to wear a mask indoors and any additional precautions they can take to protect themselves. The college supports mask-wearing during close in-person gatherings when community rates are high. We honor every community member’s choices regarding mask-wearing. As such, please consider having a mask with you around campus.
For classroom settings, mask requirements will continue to be at the discretion of the individual faculty member. Unless required by faculty members, masks are optional in classrooms.
Masks are optional outside for vaccinated and boosted individuals.
Unvaccinated individuals who have been granted an approved exemption should wear masks while indoors and in the company of others.

Updated Isolation and Quarantine Requirements

Isolation Guidance: Students testing positive will isolate for five (5) days if asymptomatic or nominally symptomatic. If symptomatic, students may need to isolate for up to ten (10) days but often shorter if symptoms resolve.
Students testing positive will isolate themselves in their residence hall rooms with mask usage unless they can go home. This protocol follows a shift in the state of the pandemic and the college’s commitment to rely on the CDC and ACHA as well as many research institutions and/or those with medical schools. Isolation in place is the current practice for most institutions. The use of masks by both/all roommates is a primary tool for guarding against transmission that hasn't yet occurred.
Depending on the severity of the cases and extant risk factors, students may be isolated in on-campus buildings, or in some rare cases, other accommodations.
Depending upon symptoms, students who return home to isolate may expect to need to do so between six (6) and ten (10) days and will be directed by the Wellness Center.
All students who are isolated will be instructed on how to access classwork and dining services based on their individual circumstances.
Faculty and staff should isolate themselves at home for the required period of time. Please notify your supervisor and contact your healthcare provider for guidance.
Quarantine Guidance: If you have been exposed to a person known to have COVID-19, including a roommate, you are not required to quarantine but you are required to wear a mask for the next ten days. However, if you develop symptoms, please get tested immediately at the Wellness Center. If you remain asymptomatic, please get tested five days after your last exposure.

Vaccinations and Boosters

For all students and employees, particularly those who are immunocompromised and community members age 50 or older, the CDC continues to recommend that you receive the COVID-19 primary series and the most recent COVID-19 booster. For Spring 2023, this remains a campus requirement for all students, faculty and staff.

Campus Events and External Guests

As a vaccinated campus, Agnes Scott encourages our guests to be vaccinated for COVID-19. For those visitors who are not, we request that you wear a mask when in the company of others. Masks will often be available on campus for those that do not have them.

Fall Semester Update: August 17, 2022

COVID-19 Testing and Sharing Requirements:

Students are required to obtain a PCR test within 72 hours of arriving on campus. We will also accept at-home antigen test results taken within 24 hours of arriving on campus. Search for a COVID testing site or reach out to your local pharmacies.
Students living on campus will be asked to show proof of their negative test result at Residence Life check-in. This includes RAs, athletes and student leaders arriving early. Printed or electronic test results from a testing site or healthcare provider will be accepted. A photograph of your negative test result from an at-home testing kit that shows your name and date on the strip will also be accepted.
- FIRST-YEAR STUDENT PROCESS: You will show your test result at the Wellness Center station located at the college’s West Parking facility on S. McDonough St. If you have a negative test result, you will be given a wristband to continue your check-in process at your assigned residence hall. If you have a positive test result, you will be directed to return home if you are within driving distance or given guidance about isolating in place in your residence hall room.
- Upperclass students will show test results during the check-in process at Winship Hall.
Commuter and graduate students will send their electronic test results or photo by email to covidsupport@shorinji-kempo.net the day before coming to campus for classes or meetings.
Students who test positive before coming to campus should follow the CDC protocol to isolate at home and contact the Wellness Center at covidsupport@shorinji-kempo.net to receive further instructions.
All students are required to report any positive COVID test result to the Wellness Center immediately by emailing covidsupport@shorinji-kempo.net. You may also call the Wellness Center at 404.471.7100 during open hours. Students should also alert their professors that they have tested positive to receive classwork assistance. Reporting is essential to the health and safety of the campus. Please do not attend class or gatherings until cleared to do so. You will receive medical care and isolation information once you report.
If you have recently had COVID, you may continue to test positive on a PCR test. Please contact the Wellness Center, or in the case of faculty and staff, your physician for further instructions.
Rapid testing will be available on campus at the Wellness Center for students with symptoms or with known exposure to COVID-19. Students should contact the Wellness Center during open hours (Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m.- 4 p.m.) to schedule an appointment for testing.
No routine or surveillance testing will be required for students, faculty or staff. However, if you experience COVID symptoms, or have a close and more than brief exposure to a person confirmed to have COVID, please wear a mask at all times and test immediately.
Faculty and staff just returning to campus in August should get tested. Search for a COVID testing site or reach out to your local pharmacies.

Masking

The CDC continues to recommend that individuals wear a mask indoors - in public settings. We encourage you to wear a mask during in-person gatherings and in other indoor group settings. You do not need to wear a mask if alone in an individual space.
We honor every community member’s choices regarding mask wearing. As such, please carry a mask at all times.
For classroom settings, mask requirements will be at the discretion of the individual faculty member. Unless required by faculty members, masks remain recommended but optional in classrooms.
Masks are optional outside for vaccinated and boosted individuals.
Unvaccinated individuals who have been granted an approved exemption must wear masks at all times.
Students and their two guests should wear masks in common areas of the residence halls during move-in.
Residential students will receive a KN95 mask and two (2) at-home antigen tests at check-in for future use as needed.
Commuter and graduate students may receive their mask and at-home antigen tests (if needed) from the Wellness Center between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Isolation Requirement and Change in the Requirement for Quarantining

COVID-19 has changed over the past 2+ years. Campus management intentionally will be similar to the protocols we use related to other infectious diseases on campus.
Students testing positive will isolate themselves in their residence hall rooms with mask usage unless they can go home. This protocol follows a shift in the state of the pandemic and the college’s commitment to rely on the CDC and ACHA as well as many research institutions and/or those with medical schools. Isolation in place is the existing or new practice for most institutions. With the COVID virus becoming less virulent and the protections afforded by a ~98% vaccination/booster rate, the risk of severe illness for students is extremely low. Within this context, colleges are comfortable with students isolating in their residence hall rooms with mask usage unless they can go home. A large percentage of our students will be able to go home.
The required use of masks by both/all roommates is a primary tool for guarding against transmission that hasn't yet occurred.
Depending on the severity of the cases and extant risk factors, students may be isolated in on-campus buildings, or in some rare cases, other accommodations.
Students who return home to isolate may expect to need to do so between six (6) and ten (10) days and will be directed by the Wellness Center.
All students who are isolated will be instructed on how to access classwork and dining services based upon their individual circumstances.
Faculty and staff should isolate themselves at home for the required period of time. Please notify your supervisor and contact your health care provider for guidance.
Change in Quarantine Guidance: If you have been exposed to a person known to have COVID-19, including a roommate, you are not required to quarantine but you are required to wear a mask for the next ten days. However, if you develop symptoms, please get tested immediately at the Wellness Center. If you remain asymptomatic, please get tested five days after your last exposure.

Vaccinations and Boosters

For students or employees who are immunocompromised and community members age 50 or older, the CDC continues to recommend that you receive a second COVID-19 booster. We highly encourage you to do so as well. If you have not done so already, please check the CDC website to see if you are eligible to receive your second booster.
The variant-specific boosters are currently in development and should be available in late September. You will be eligible to receive the new booster- even if you receive your second dose now.

Campus Events and External Guests

At this time, we plan to reopen Evans Dining Hall to external guests who follow our campus health and safety protocols. These protocols will be clearly noted on signage outside of Evans. Until this recent surge recedes, please wear a mask and ask your guest to wear a mask while obtaining food in the food service area.
We will also continue to hold events that include external guests. Event guests must be vaccinated/boosted or exempted (with masks) to attend. For larger-scale indoor events with many guests, we advise all attendees to wear a mask.