At least one confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported to Student Health Services by someone who attended the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday, December 1.

In an email, Director of Student Health Services Maura Smith notified the Marywood community about the potential exposure from the event. Smith outlined guidance for those who may have been exposed regarding their vaccination status.

Per current CDC and Marywood guidelines, unvaccinated students who may have been exposed must self report to Student Health Services and quarantine for 14 days. Vaccinated students should use caution and social distance.

“It is recommended to seek assurance testing 5-7 days from exposure but quarantine would not be ordered unless you are experiencing signs of COVID-like illness or test positive,” said Smith in the email. This guidance refers to vaccinated students who may have been exposed.

The Christmas tree lighting ceremony was part of Marywood’s “Making Spirits Bright” holiday campaign. Since mask wearing is required indoors, transmission at the event should be low, since the CDC says that mask wearing significantly reduces COVID-19 transmission.

Any close contacts of the positive individual have been notified, Smith reported.

According to the Marywood COVID dashboard, since the beginning of the fall semester 75 students have tested positive for COVID-19. Ten of those were cases identified with reentry testing in August. In that same time frame, seven employees have reported a positive COVID-19 test.

The dashboard was last updated to reflect the numbers from the beginning of the semester through November 28th. This reported positive case and any other cases from Marywood community members is not represented in the dashboard at the time of publication.

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Twitter: @e_tww