Quintessential Kenyon: Student Life, Uncut

Information regarding College reporting of COVID-19

Office of Communications
August 24, 2020

Dear Kenyon College community, 

Last week we welcomed our first two waves of students back to campus and, with their arrival, launched our COVID-19 testing program. We are grateful to the many people who have contributed to a smooth process thus far. We write today with information about how the College will report the presence of COVID-19 among students and employees on campus. 

Kenyon has engaged the laboratory Everlywell to provide tests and processing for all students in residence and Kenyon College employees; more details regarding testing protocols are available on Kenyon’s website. Within about 72 hours of receiving your sample, Everlywell will notify you (via the email and/or text number you provided when registering your kit) that your test result is available on their website. If positive, an Everlywell physician will call you with guidance, as will a staff member from Knox Public Health, who will oversee the care and manage the contact tracing process of any Knox County cases of COVID-19. It is important that you respond to their outreach, so please make every attempt to answer your phone while you are awaiting results, check your voicemail regularly and ensure that it does not become full. 

The College also receives copies of test results and will update by noon EDT each weekday a dashboard of aggregate data including confirmed cases, recovered cases, the number of students and employees who have been tested, and the number of students in quarantine or isolation. The dashboard also will include information regarding COVID-19 presence in Gambier and Knox County. All students and employees will be emailed weekly a summary report of the presence of COVID-19 on campus. To sign up for a daily dashboard reminder, please fill out this form. Regular updates also will be shared on Kenyon’s social media channels. Please note that personal data will be kept in confidence and shared with only those responsible for managing care.

Thank you for your partnership and cooperation as we all work to make this fall semester as safe and as fruitful as possible.

Sincerely, 
Chris Smith, MPH 
Director, Cox Health and Counseling Center

Jennifer Cabral
Director of Human Resources