Chattanooga State Community College will require that visitors make an appointment before coming on campus in an effort to limit potential spread of COVID-19 as cases surge across the region, according to a spokesperson for the school.
Spokesperson Nancy Patterson said that the main campus and all instructional sites will remain open for business and students will not experience a change in instruction. Many students are already enrolled in virtual or online classes for the semester, but she said more than 1,400 unique visitors were on campus last week.
“Our academic leaders had the foresight this summer to offer courses this academic year that are online, virtual and hybrid, so our students will not experience much change [because] classes remain online, virtual and hybrid,” Patterson said by email. “For campus visitors, we are open to the public by appointment only, and this is the biggest change to help decrease people on campus.”
The change will begin Thursday, Nov. 12, and will remain in effect until at least Jan. 8.
The college currently has 11 active cases of COVID-19 – an increase of seven from last week – among faculty, staff and students, according to the campus case report.
Hamilton County is now averaging a record 167 new cases a day and a positivity rate of 13.4% for new tests in the past week. Hospitals across Tennessee as filling up with as the number of COVID-19 patients saw a net increase of more than 250 since Nov. 1.
More information about Chattanooga State’s Campus Pandemic Plan and updates are available online at chattanoogastate.edu and chattanoogastate.edu/campus-pandemic-response-plan.
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Compiled by staff writer Elizabeth Fite.