Early Bird

The latest on Covid-19 and campus operations

Information on promising testing data and quarantining after travel.

By Larry Sampler, chief operating officer

October 7, 2021

Dear Roadrunners, 

As more and more of our community members become fully vaccinated, it’s once again becoming common for Roadrunners to take much-deserved trips. Personally, I am thrilled to see how many employees are using their annual leave time to safely rest, reboot and have some fun after a challenging year and a half.  

Increased travel has also brought up some questions about quarantining upon return, so I would like to reiterate the University’s quarantine guidelines for international and domestic travel. 

International travel 

If the employee or student is fully vaccinated, they may return to campus without quarantine and should get tested for Covid-19 three to five days after arriving home. 

If the employee or student is not fully vaccinated, they must quarantine at home for seven days after arrival and get tested for Covid. If the test is negative, they may return to campus on the eighth day. 

Domestic travel (within the continental U.S.) 

If the employee or student is fully vaccinated, they may return to campus without quarantine or testing. The individual should isolate and test immediately if symptoms develop. 

If the employee or student is not fully vaccinated, they must quarantine at home for seven days upon return and get tested within three to five days after arriving home. If the test is negative, the unvaccinated individual may return to campus on the eighth day. 

Covid-19 Dashboard 

I would also like to remind anyone interested to check out the University’s Covid-19 Dashboard. This site houses updated information with regard to Roadrunners’ vaccination status, testing, positivity rate and more. This tool has been incredibly helpful in allowing us to measure the significant positive impact of widespread vaccination. For example, the University recorded 12 positive cases in the past week, putting our positivity rate at 1% compared with 4.2% across the City and County of Denver.  

Notably, there have been zero instances of on-campus transmission. This means that while some Roadrunners have tested positive for Covid-19, they have not spread the virus on campus. It also means our testing strategy is contributing to the overall health and safety of our larger community.  

That said, we still strongly encourage all Roadrunners to become fully vaccinated. Countless medical and public-health experts, including those here on campus and at the Health Center at Auraria, agree that the vaccines are safe, effective and the best way to protect ourselves and others from Covid-19. 

As always, please check out the Safe Return Faculty Staff Guide, including guidelines around student mask noncompliance. For any questions not addressed on the website, please contact roadrunnersafereturn@msudenver.edu.  

Thank you again for your hard work in supporting our safe return to campus.   

Sincerely,   

Larry Sampler   
Vice president for Administration, Finance and Facilities and chief operating officer