Dear UMPI community,

We learned Friday of a positive case of COVID-19 identification in our campus community through our week-long VAULT testing process.  All primary contacts have been notified.  We are pleased to be able to report that the individual is in good health and remains asymptomatic.

In the past three weeks alone, hundreds of VAULT tests have been administered on our campus, including to all individuals (students, staff, and faculty) who attend classes or work on campus in person.  In addition, UMPI has begun testing wastewater this semester, twice per week. Through this process, wastewater samples are tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Between the weekly individual testing and the addition of wastewater sampling, we can now more effectively, and more rapidly, identify the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in our community.

My continuing thanks to everyone in the UMPI community for your vigilance throughout the pandemic, particularly these first few weeks of this spring semester. Your care and concern for one another continues to make this as safe a campus as possible. As always, please remember to wear a mask, socially distance, wash your hands, and if you are sick please stay home (see CDC guidance on coronavirus symptoms). If you have questions or would like to speak to a campus official, please let us know here.

Ray