Covid higher education proclamation to expire Oct. 31, 2022 / Message from the President
By Suzanne M. Johnson, October 25, 2022
Dear Green River College community,
Governor Inslee announced last month that the State of Washington will be ending its remaining COVID-19 emergency orders and state of emergency by Oct. 31. Green River College has reviewed the state’s guidance and will be making the following changes to the College’s current COVID-19 protocols, effective Nov. 1, 2022:
- Vaccinations are strongly encouraged. While no longer required, Green River College strongly encourages all members of our college community--students, staff, and faculty--to get vaccinated and boosted to protect the health and safety of all. GRC will host community pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinics on its main Auburn campus on Dec. 6. Details regarding time and location will be shared in future communications. To find additional vaccine providers near you, please visit vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
- Students with a previously approved exemption and reasonable accommodation stemming from the Governor's Proclamation will receive communications from Student Affairs prior to Oct. 31, 2022, regarding this change and the interactive reasonable accommodation process.
- Employees with a previously approved exemption and reasonable accommodation stemming from the Governor's Proclamation will receive communications from Human Resources prior to Oct. 31, 2022, regarding this change and the interactive reasonable accommodation process.
- Masking is strongly encouraged. GRC continues to strongly recommend wearing masks indoors. Mask wearing may be requested or required in certain situations or locations (e.g., faculty designated classrooms, labs, offices, and non-instructional spaces). All students, faculty, staff, and community members should continue to bring a mask when visiting a GRC location.
- Faculty and staff may request or require students to wear masks in their classrooms and other workspaces and agree to inform students before the first meeting of their in-person classes or when entering office spaces if they request masks or upon arrival.
- Masks and hand-sanitation stations will continue to be available in all buildings.
- Stay home if you are sick. Students, faculty, and staff should not come to campus or participate in any in-person activities if they or a family member are displaying COVID-like symptoms. Please notify your GRC supervisor or faculty member immediately if feeling ill.
- Contact Tracing will continue. We ask that community members report a positive COVID-19 test result if they have recently been on campus. This helps us to track the number of cases among community members and to respond with information and resources. Once submitted, anonymous notifications will automatically be sent to the individuals identified via their GRC email, sharing isolation instructions from the Centers for Disease Control.
- GRC students who have tested positive after recently being on campus should continue to contact Campus Safety.
- GRC employees can report their positive cases using the Employee Covid-19 Reporting and Contact Tracing Form, which is located on the homepage of GatorNet, as well as on the Faculty & Staff Portal page.
As we prepare for these changes you will see updates made to GRC’s COVID-19 Resources & Information page. Upcoming opportunities for vaccination and testing will be communicated on those pages.
In the meantime, thank you for all you've done to ensure an excellent start of our fall term. Our Green River College community has done a wonderful job of keeping one another healthy and safe these past few years. I know that commitment will continue. I wish you all the best for the remainder of the fall academic term.
Stay well,
Suzanne
