Public Health Officials Urge Safety in Planning Holiday Celebrations As COVID-19 Cases Rise

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Current Status

Augsburg has been able to keep its 14-day on-campus case rate below 1% for the past several weeks. At the same time, however, we are seeing a noticeable increase in reports of positive COVID-19 tests among students who live off campus and have only online classes.

With the number of COVID-19 cases climbing in the region and across the nation, public health officials are underscoring the importance of planning for safe activities during the upcoming holidays. (See the October 24 COVID-19 Dashboard for additional Augsburg and local-area metrics.)

Recommended Action

The Minnesota Department of Health has published safe holiday guidelines for Halloween, Día de los Muertos, and Thanksgiving.

Below are the top six Halloween recommendations for college and university students:

  • Incorporate a mask into your costume!
  • Dress up warm and stay outside.
  • Avoid gatherings of 5 or more.
  • Get dressed up but stick with a small group or show off your costume over a Zoom party.
  • Don’t go to bars or parties where there are large crowds. If you go to a bar, go to one that follows social distancing.
  • Be smart and safe now so that you don’t take COVID-19 to your families at Thanksgiving.

 

Three jack-o-lanterns with the words "safe," "less safe" and "unsafe"
Click the image above to access an easy-to-read PDF infographic from the de Beaumont Foundation illustrating Halloween safety recommendations from the Center for Disease Control.