NAMPA, Idaho — Northwest Nazarene University announced students and faculty will return to face-to-face classes and employees will return to campus offices Wednesday as planned, following a week-long proactive “stay-in-place” directive that is set to expire Tuesday night.
The university issued the directive last week in light of increasing confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases on campus.
“Although we must remain vigilant, we are pleased that our case numbers are beginning to trend in the right direction,” President Joel Pearsall said. “When we started to see an increase in cases last week, we knew we needed to address the issue proactively. We initiated several changes and the NNU community responded in a positive way. Their collective actions seem to have helped to interrupt the spread we were starting to observe.”
When face-to-face classes resume on Wednesday, there will be some added safety measures that will carry over from the “Stay-in-Place” directive including four-times-a-week saliva screening, grab-and-go meal service, and continued restrictions for campus visitors and vendors.
“Our asymptomatic pooled saliva screening is a key layer in our health protocols,” Pearsall said. “It allows us to identify cases before an individual may show symptoms so we can support the individual early and minimize potential transmission to others. By increasing our screening, it will provide additional insight to our Health Services team that will allow them to help us protect the health of our campus community.”
Face-to-face classes will be held Wednesday, Nov. 18 through Wednesday, Nov. 25. Thanksgiving break will be observed Nov. 26-29. Following the break, students will have the option of returning to campus or completing the semester remotely. The fall semester will conclude on December 10.
