Sioux Center, Iowa — Classes are underway for the fall semester at Dordt University in Sioux Center, but the situation is not business-as-usual for the liberal arts institution.
Dordt officials tell us they have started classes on what they are calling their “yellow alert level.” They say Dordt has been at the green alert level since mid-August, but are now at a yellow alert level because of increased local community spread as well as having nine early arrival students who tested positive for COVID-19. These students are in isolation off-campus.
Dr. Erik Hoekstra, president of Dordt University is asking people to please pray for these students as they go through the recovery process. He says Dordt has planned for this, and their plan is working. He says what Dordt does as a campus community in the next two weeks is very important to maintain in-person classes. Hoekstra is asking students and others on campus to “Please wear your mask, stay six feet away from others, and keep your conversations to 10 minutes. This will keep students from needing to quarantine and will help mitigate spread.”
A yellow alert level at Dordt means:
The Rec Center and the Hulst Library are closed to the public.
There is face-to-face instruction for healthy personnel and online instruction for students who are in quarantine or isolation.
Class sizes may be restricted.
There are heightened precautions for residence hall living.
There will be restricted attendance with social distancing at mass gatherings such as chapel and athletic events.
Co-curricular practices and events will be subject to cancellation.
To learn more about the alert levels, please visit dordt.edu/covid.
Employees, students, and campus visitors, are asked to continue to practice physical distancing, masking, hand washing, and limiting in-person interactions to 10 minutes. By adhering to these practices, Dordt officials say they hope to eventually return to the green alert level status.
Dordt will maintain its on-campus masking requirement, encouraging all students, employees, and campus visitors to wear masks both indoors and outdoors through at least Sunday, August 30th. The only exception is that employees will not need to wear masks when working in their own office or if their workspace has a plexiglass shield in place. Students do not need to wear masks in their dorm rooms or in their own apartments.
