Undergraduate students returning to the Upper Valley during the 2020-2021 academic year will be subject to strict 14-day quarantine regulations that “exceed those prescribed by the state of New Hampshire,” including mandatory testing for COVID-19, whether they are living on or off campus.
Students living on campus, as well as graduate students in Tuck residence halls, will be required to remain in their rooms — except to use the restroom — until they test negative for COVID-19 or 48 hours after their arrival, “whichever is later.” Meals will be pre-ordered and delivered, and testing will be conducted “as soon as is reasonably practical,” according to the guidelines.
After a negative test result, students will be able to leave their rooms to pick up meals up to three times a day, go outdoors for exercise and “participate in Dartmouth-organized outdoor activities.” Outside of these activities, which will be capped at nine people, no gatherings of “any size” are permitted for two weeks, according to the guidelines.
Students will receive a second COVID-19 test seven days after their initial test. Students who test positive in either round of testing will be moved to isolation housing, and a contact tracing investigation will be performed by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. The guidelines also state that any contacts, including “family/household members,” will be notified. College spokesperson Diana Lawrence wrote in an email statement that the testing schedule will be “finalized” in August.
Students living off campus will also be subject to certain regulations for their first fourteen days in the Upper Valley. According to the guidelines, they will be allowed to leave their residences for outdoor exercise and curbside pickups of “food or essential supplies.” Lawrence wrote that testing will be required for students living both on and off campus. The guidelines note that off-campus students will be tested during “screening clinics scheduled by the Dartmouth College Health Service,” and may also be moved into isolation housing if they test positive.
The guidelines do not include details as to how the College will enforce them for students living off campus. According to Lawrence, all students will sign a “community expectations agreement” that will outline “health and safety rules, regulations, and guidance for COVID-19 in Hanover and any other Upper Valley community where they reside or travel.”
Graduate students living off-campus or in Sachem Village, South Street and North Park apartments “must follow quarantine requirements in their state of residence” and will receive access to campus buildings 14 days after arrival, “provided they have not had symptoms.” If they plan to be on campus for any reason before then, the guidelines state that they should contact Dick’s House for testing.
Lawrence added that all guidelines “may be modified in response to the evolving pandemic situation and new federal, state, and local health guidance.”
