COVID-19 Capacity Limit Changes
February 23, 2021
Dear students, faculty, and staff,
As you know, Brandeis regularly reviews our COVID-19 guidelines and protocols and adjusts them based on the current state of transmission locally and on our campus. Thanks to your continued adherence to public health measures such as mask-wearing, social distancing, hand washing and maintaining your Campus Passports, our positivity rate on campus continues to be quite low, at the same time as rates are also falling locally. In light of this, we are pleased to announce that we are able to expand the capacity for some types of activities beyond previous limits, effective immediately.
Lab Density
- Science laboratory density may now increase to no more than 60% from the currently-allowed 40%. All safety standards and minimum 6-foot distancing, partitions, etc., must continue to be in place.
- Lab meetings have now been designated as a classroom activity, which allows them to be conducted in person with a maximum of 29 attendees, according to the allowable room capacity. Eating and drinking at lab meetings is prohibited.
Religious Gatherings
- State guidance allows for increased capacity at religious services; we plan to gradually increase our maximum allowed capacity as well. As of now, we are increasing it to 25 people or 25% capacity, whichever is less, according to the allowable room capacity.
In all cases, masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene, green Campus Passports, and adherence to all Brandeis health and safety requirements and sector-specific guidelines from the state of Massachusetts are required.
As always, our policies will evolve to reflect current public health data and emerging science. As we are able to make changes, they will be communicated both via email and updated on the COVID-19 Response website.
Sincerely,
Carol A. Fierke
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Stew Uretsky
Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance
Raymond Lu Ming Ou
Vice President of Student Affairs