Given the ongoing development related to COVID-19 and its variants, the University of Denver will require masks to be worn by returning students, and the vaccination requirement for students now includes a COVID-19 booster shot. Proof of the booster shot will be required by Jan. 31, with opportunities to receive the booster at on-campus clinics on Jan. 5, 8 and 12.
Though appearing to result in less serious symptoms than the dominant Delta variant, the COVID-19 Omicron variant is more easily transmissible, leading to concern from officials that hospitals will once again be flooded past capacity. The hospitals are stretched thin already with dwindling resources left.
As such, in an email on Thursday, Dec. 23, it was revealed that the University of Denver would be moving to alert level yellow, upping the mandatory precautions as students return to campus for winter quarter.
The original move-in plan shared on Dec. 9 will remain unchanged. Incoming students are required to receive two negative test results from an on-campus location, one to establish access status and grant building access and another shortly thereafter to maintain status.
Students will be required to adhere to a regular testing schedule, similar to autumn quarter’s regimen. Additionally, per the elevated restrictions, students must wear masks indoors.
If a student tests positive for COVID-19 before arriving on campus, DU recommends you reach out to a health provider to ask any questions and to delay your arrival to campus until the full 10-day quarantine is complete. If you test positive on-campus, a DU employee will inform you of the updated quarantine requirements depending on your living situation. If you live off-campus, the CDC has recently shortened the quarantine to five full days in isolation or until symptoms persist, and five days out of isolation, but wearing a mask.
Jan. 3 marked the beginning of courses, which will be remote for a period before in-person instruction resumes. Undergraduate classes will move to in-person on Jan. 18. Students are not required to be on-campus until this point.
For students without an exemption, the vaccines for COVID-19 and the flu are already required by DU for campus access, and after Jan. 31, the COVID-19 booster will be added. Eligible students, meaning those who have been vaccinated more than six months ago—or two months after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine—and have not tested positive in the past 28 days, will have the opportunity to receive their booster at an on-campus clinic on Jan. 5, 8 and 12 or by appointment through the Health and Counseling Center.
