I think it’s safe to say that this semester has been tough on all of us. One particular reason for this, although absolutely necessary, is our guest policy: UHart residents aren’t allowed to have guests in their places of residence. However, there may be changes regarding our guest policy in the near future!

On October 8th, Connecticut enters Phase 3 of reopening. This is super exciting for anyone that lives in Connecticut! And I’m talking to us too because technically, if you are a UHart resident, Connecticut is your second home!

“The reason why we are able to have a discussion about even entering into Phase 3 is because of Connecticut residents’ collective actions to fight the spread of COVID-19,” Ned Lamont, the Governor of Connecticut, said. “By taking the sector rules seriously, wearing masks, physically distancing, and washing your hands regularly, I believe that we can continue to keep these rates low while also easing some of the restrictions that were enacted earlier this year. I applaud the residents of our state for what they’ve been doing and urge them to keep it up.”

There has been talk amongst staff at UHart on loosening up these policies, based on our COVID-19 test results. “We are carefully monitoring the testing numbers and trends each week on campus and in the larger Hartford Community. Thank you to the student body for following the rules, wearing masks, social distancing, and committing to keeping the campus safe,” Dr. Jessica Nicklin, Associate Vice President for Student Success, writes, “Our #1 priority is the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff. Right now, it is still too soon to say if we are relaxing the guest policy or not, but it is something we are considering.”

According to the UHart COVID-19 Dashboard, the Cumulative Positive Cases by Week has actually gone down since the week of September 14-20. During this particular week, the dashboard shows there were 15 positive cases. The weeks after that, there were 5 and then 3. This shows the true efforts that students are putting in!

Nothing is set in stone yet but given the efforts that students are putting in to keep others safe, and the efforts that the state of Connecticut is putting in overall, there is a likely chance that policy restrictions may lift. If they do lift, please keep in mind that we are still in a pandemic and that the safety and wellbeing of other individuals comes first! If we want to stay on campus, we must all do our part in making sure that happens, and right now we are doing a great job! Keep up these efforts!

“We will update the campus community as soon as we can if there is a change,” Dr. Nicklin writes.