All in-person activities will resume beginning Monday as GW’s COVID-19 caseload continues to decline, officials announced Thursday.
Athletic events will open to ticketed fans beginning Sunday, and campus facilities with public access will reopen to the public on Monday, officials said in an email. Classes had resumed in person earlier this month after officials moved the first week of the semester online, but administrators had held off on removing further restrictions amid a continued high number of coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.
“We are able to take this action thanks to the collective efforts of our community members to keep one another healthy and safe,” officials said.
The Lerner Health and Wellness Center and the West Hall Fitness Center will also reopen Monday, and library study rooms will no longer be restricted to one occupant, the email states.
The loosened restrictions will allow fans to attend Sunday’s men’s basketball game against Fordham, which begins at noon. Club and intramural sports will also resume Sunday.
“We are now positively thrilled to welcome our fans back as our teams have greatly missed your loud and GW-proud support,” the Athletics Department said in a release. “There is nothing like a packed Smith Center.”
Officials have required the COVID-19 booster shot, offered free N95 masks, reserved off-campus housing for students who contract the virus and implemented regular testing plans to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Officials said campus visitors are expected to be fully vaccinated and boosted.
GW’s seven-day positivity rate has fallen below 3 percent in recent days, a steady decline since the first week of classes when 548 community members tested positive. Despite the larger number of cases, interim University President Mark Wrighton said in an interview earlier this month that no community members who contracted the virus this semester had severe illness.
“We acknowledge that the past six weeks have been challenging for all of us,” officials said. “We appreciate your continued patience and for working together to adhere to our health and safety protocols. Your efforts have directly contributed to our ability to return to our campuses for a comprehensive in-person semester.”
