COVID-19 Response: What's Now, What's Next

• A temporary order reducing capacity limits for indoor and outdoor gatherings statewide is currently in place. These new limits supersede the previously announced Phase 3, Step 1 rollback limitations. 
• Non-classroom space capacity across campus is currently 25% of max occupancy. This includes areas such as office and meeting rooms, art studios, the Library, and the Gosman gym. All other Brandeis requirements, policies, and protocols regarding access to these spaces remain the same.
• Research lab density has been increased to 60%, provided that all other safety standards (6-foot distancing, partitions, etc) remain in place.
• Gathering size is currently limited to a maximum of 10 people indoors, 25 people outdoors, and 6 people in residence hall rooms. Gatherings in off-campus residences are also limited to 10 people (who are not members of the same household). Masks must be worn by all those in attendance. 
• Religious services are capped at 25 people, or 25% room capacity, whichever is less. 
• Lab meetings are now designated as a classroom activity, which allows them to be conducted in person, with a maximum of 29 attendees. Eating and dining at lab meetings is prohibited. 
• Brandeis meets or exceeds Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Environmental Protection Agency  guidelines for cleaning all types of space on campus including classrooms, study spaces, common areas, and residence halls, with a special focus on high-touch surfaces.
• Custodial staff clean and disinfect classrooms, common areas in all buildings including residence halls and dining facilities multiple times per day.
• Custodial staff clean high-touch areas, including door handles, railings, elevator buttons and bathroom fixtures multiple times per day.
• Students, faculty and staff members are expected to clean their work areas before and after each use with sanitizing wipes provided by the university.
• Cleaning supplies, including hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes dispensers, are available in classroom spaces, dining areas, study spaces, campus shuttles and other high-traffic areas to allow for self-cleaning.
• Workspace safety reviews were conducted in order to assist the schools, divisions and central groups in preparing safe work environments for their faculty, staff and students.
• Capital Programs staff installed safety modifications, such as Plexiglas barriers or furniture removal, to aid de-densification efforts in all front-facing, high-traffic workspaces on campus, including, for example, the library, Shapiro Admissions Center, and the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.
• Outdoor furniture like picnic tables, tents and chairs have been placed across campus to serve as additional common spaces and relieve the pressure on indoor common spaces, especially the library.

• If a staff member brings their own food or beverages to campus, it should neither require refrigeration nor warming up in a microwave.

• Break rooms are limited to only one person at a time. Staff is expected to limit time spent in a break room and wipe down/disinfect any areas they used when finished. Cleaning supplies have been placed in break rooms for this purpose; file a request with Facilities Services when additional supplies are needed.

Cleaning

• Custodial staff deep cleans and disinfects classrooms twice per weekday (an increase over the pre-COVID-19 norm of once daily).

• There are 30 minutes between each class to allow time for students and faculty to wipe their desk or work area. Faculty work areas include A/V cables and controls. Plentiful cleaning materials (disinfecting wipes or equivalent) have been placed in each classroom.

Seating

• In-person classes is limited to 29 people including the instructor and teaching assistants. Any class with more than 28 students is being delivered remotely, possibly with in-person smaller groups, to comply with state regulations and public health guidelines.

• Seat locations are marked to ensure a distance of 6 feet between students.

• Eating and drinking in classrooms is prohibited, with the exception of quick sips of water. Masks must be worn at all times and should only be removed momentarily when taking a sip.

Instruction

• Each room layout includes a "teaching zone" at the front of the class to provide sufficient room for faculty to move about while maintaining a safe distance from the front row of students.

• Departments are providing each faculty member with a supply of chalk or whiteboard markers (as appropriate to each room) and erasers, so as to reduce the amount of communal equipment in use in the classroom. Faculty need to remember to bring those materials with them each day they teach.

• Faculty whose pedagogy includes asking students to write on the board should ask students to bring their own writing supplies as well.

Air Circulation

• Measures have been taken to optimize air circulation in classrooms include deficiency repairs; upgrading filter MERV (minimum efficiency rating) levels and increasing the frequency of filter changes; and increasing the level of outside air entering classrooms.

• For details, please visit the dining website.

• Both Usdan and Sherman dining halls rely primarily on takeout food service, supplemented by certain retail locations.

• Seating in dining halls is at significantly reduced capacity levels.

• Multiple health and safety measures are in place, including table and floor markings to provide for 6-foot distancing, limited seating capacity and hand-sanitizing stations.

• Students may socialize and eat outdoors with more than one person if they maintain social distancing. Eating with others in the same room indoors is not permitted.

• Masks may be removed to eat. When consuming a beverage, students should pull down their mask to quickly take a drink, but do not fully remove it. This way, the student can quickly and easily place their mask back over both their nose and mouth.

• Dining Services and Sodexo have expanded hours of operations to accommodate de-densification in the dining halls by possibly utilizing nearby common spaces.

• Pre-ordering meals is available through a mobile app for retail venues to help facilitate prepayment and the timely pickup of orders while reducing touchpoints.

• Facilities staff clean and sanitize residence halls daily.

• Cleaning materials (disinfecting wipes or equivalent) are widely available in residences for self-cleaning.

• Most rooms are singles, with limited double availability. There are no triples.

• Guests are not allowed in residence halls.
• Gatherings in residence halls are limited to no more than 6 people. Masks must be worn at all times regardless of physical distance from others. Masks don't have to be worn if in room alone, or with roommate, or while sleeping. Eating with others indoor is not allowed.
• Students must follow proper mask-wearing protocols while in residence halls.

• The Operations and Maintenance team has implemented several strategies for enhancing the performance of existing building air circulation systems so that they work as well as possible throughout the pandemic. Strategies include:

  • Increasing the frequency of regular maintenance, such as filter and prefilter changes and the cleaning of cooling coils.

  • conducting preventive maintenance, such as clearing airways and outside air intake plenums.

  • Upgrading MERV (minimum efficiency rating) level of filters.

  • Increasing the level of outside air entering buildings by running HVAC units at night, thereby increasing fresh air percentage to specific rooms.

  • Investigating and repairing deficiencies in HVAC equipment.

• Facilities Services has increased regular maintenance of its HVAC systems, performing preventative maintenance, upgrading the level of its air filters and adjusting HVAC systems to optimize fresh air intake.

• Facilities Services is monitoring and balancing the air circulation systems to prevent any airflow conditions that could increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

• Brandeis has installed public health signage and messaging in all campus buildings, including academic buildings and residence halls, to continually reinforce community expectations.

• Signs indicate room and elevator capacities with social distancing, one-way directions for stairways and hallways, and provide floor marks to show people where they can safely stand and sit.

• Markings have been placed on campus pathways and painted lawn circles in large open areas to encourage physical distancing.

• Signage at the entry to campus describes Brandeis' expectations for social solidarity related to public health guidelines.

The Gosman Sports and Convocation Center and other athletic facilities, indoor and outdoor, is open to currently active students, faculty and staff. Students on a leave of absence and guests are not allowed to use the facilities. Memberships are also not permitted. Please check the Gosman site for current hours and policies.

Masks/face coverings and physical distancing are required. Gym users must familiarize themselves with Gosman’s COVID-19 policies before entering.

Anyone coming to campus to use the athletic facilities (or for any other reason) must present their Brandeis ID, and must also have completed Brandeis' mandatory safety training for faculty and staff or for students. In addition, they must take Brandeis' Daily Health Assessment and sign up for COVID-19 testing, and be prepared to show proof (either on their phone or via a printout) that they cleared the daily health assessment that day.