Monday, April 6, 2020 at 4:34 PM

Due to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in the immediate area and the projected peak of COVID-19 infection in the state of North Carolina, the campus will go on lockdown as of Thursday, April 9 at 5pm. Here is what the “campus lockdown” entails:

“Campus Lockdown” refers to the complete closure of traffic into and outside of main campus with the exception of essential employees

Limitations for Residential Students

• Residential students will not be permitted to leave campus.
• Residential students should not congregate in groups larger than 10.
• Residential students may continue to participate in non-contact outdoor activities or exercise in small groups while maintaining social distance protocols as set forth by the governor’s executive order on March 27, 2020.
• Residential students with known exposure to a person with a person testing positive for COVID-19 will be placed in quarantine areas for at least 14 days.Should a quarantined student test positive for COVID-19, the campus would move into a Tier V “Shelter in Place” Response.

Campus Resources

• The cafeteria will remain on the brunch/dinner schedule until further notice.
• Necessities (personal hygiene products, and medicines) will be made available to residential students by the College.
• The Library will be closed for at least 7 days. Librarians are available remotely to assist students with work assignments.
• The Writing Center continues to operate online.
• GTC computer labs will remain open; no more than 10 persons may be in any lab at a time.

Limitations for Visitors

• Visitors will be not be permitted (exceptions: health emergencies, utility-related work [including A/C repair], and construction-related workers).
• Commuter students are limited to the GTC computer labs (with the exception of those who are still working on campus). No entrance to other campus buildings. Study groups or group meetings cannot meet in the residence halls if any members are not residents.
• Faculty and non-essential staff that have not been coming to campus regularly must notify and receive permission from the Provost’s or President’s offices prior to arrival.
• Food deliveries must be picked up at the main entrance of the GTC.

Important Considerations for Residential Students

• If you plan to leave campus to celebrate the Easter holiday between Friday, April 10-12, we encourage you to consider moving out of your room before you leave. You will not be able to come back to campus otherwise until we have cleared all students to return.
• Should the federal government, state of North Carolina, Nash County, or the City of Rocky Mount mandate curfews and/or travel restrictions, this could impact your ability to move out and leave campus by April 26. We are not telling you to leave but do want you to be aware that you could be restricted from leaving in the near future given more restrictive government protocols.
• Upon the official notification of campus lockdown, any violation to residence life policies will incur a $250 fine and/or removal from campus housing. This includes visitation restrictions, drug or alcohol violations, etc. If students who have left campus to return to the residence halls, the $1000 fine still applies.

Moving to a Tier V response level is for your protection and the protection of College staff. While you may not suffer severe effects of the virus should you get it (you may never even have symptoms), passing it to someone else could result in far more serious effects. We absolutely need your cooperation during this time. This is not what anyone wanted to see come of the Spring semester, but it is our responsibility to keep each other safe.

Stay safe and well!
Dr. Wyatt