The decision to reopen the campus for the 2020 Fall Semester comes with a greater responsibility to protect the health and safety of the campus community. In addition to the various protective measures that have been put into place to diminish the potential spread of COVID-19 on campus, Morgan State University announced its intentions to further bolster its evolving safety measures with the addition of mandatory testing for returning students, faculty and staff. For the past month, the University has actively pursued the feasibility of a mandatory testing protocol as a component of its comprehensive reopening plan while awaiting additional guidance from State leadership.
Given the recent developments in statewide higher education preparations for the fall, a path has been cleared for Morgan to implement its plan for mandatory testing. Instituting a protocol for testing that requires a negative result for all returning Morgan students and employees will be our first line of offense in effectively establishing a wellness benchmark and decreasing the probability of individuals unwittingly placing others at risk.
Execution of the pre-return to campus testing protocol is still being formulated. At the same time, the University is evaluating potential partnership opportunities to conduct on-campus testing once the semester starts, in addition to the incorporation of technology and/or mobile applications to assist in monitoring and potential tracing. The University is also establishing a COVID-19 Response Team to manage outcomes in the event positive cases emerge on campus. More details will be announced as they become available.