The COVID-19 tracking dashboard continues to be updated as Saint Mary’s begins spring semester. The Minnesota Department of Health has now created five levels of COVID-19 transmission and consequent mitigation measures, updated in its mitigation measures for higher education institutions, which are:
Level 1 (green) — low levels of transmission
Level 2 (yellow) — medium levels of transmission
Level 3 (orange) — high levels of transmission
Level 4 (deep orange) — sustained level of high transmission in the community
Level 5 (red) — sustained levels of high transmission at the university
Note: the previous orange had significant mitigation measures, many of which are now addressed in the deep orange. View the university’s new protocols on responses to surges in COVID-19 cases.
Saint Mary’s is welcoming back students to its Winona Campus at level 3 (orange). The new guidance specifically states, “Extracurricular activities/clubs/organizations should be significantly scaled back in terms of attendance, frequency of meeting, and moved to virtual wherever possible; consider postponing or canceling where feasible.” Saint Mary’s is following that guidance.
Additional safety measures have been implemented on the Winona Campus, including a curfew and soft quarantine before and after travel to campus, to prevent an early outbreak of COVID-19 after students arrive. The goal is to start the semester without a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The university is not currently tracking student cases on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses, which will begin at level 2 (yellow), because all classes have been moved online this semester.
The Winona Campus COVID-19 case data is updated each morning to reflect data from the previous day (or days, in the case of weekends). Other campus dashboards are updated weekly on Fridays before noon.