An email sent to the Bethel community today announced a decrease in COVID-19 Alert Level to level one.

By Rachel Blood 

Bethel’s testing capacity and quick result turnaround resulted in a sharp decline in recorded COVID-19 cases on campus recently, echoing the also decreasing number of cases in Minnesota as a whole. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, new confirmed positive cases in the state have dropped from 409 Jan. 1 to 23 as of 4 p.m. yesterday.

As of today, the COVID-19 Alert Level has been turned down to Level 1, where it has not been since late October 2020. This means that students in the College of Arts & Sciences and BUILD program are now permitted to enter other residence halls. Commuters are also permitted to visit residence halls.

Level 1, or “Low,” is defined on the Bethel COVID-19 Dashboard as “campus resources are not taxed and procedures are effectively mitigating spread of COVID-19.” There are currently no undergraduate students on campus diagnosed with COVID-19 and 39 quarantining off-campus due to exposure.

Social distancing, face coverings and abiding by room capacity guidelines are still in place. No other notable changes to university operations have occurred.

“As we continue in the semester and look towards warmer days and spring break, please remain diligent and make decisions regarding events, traveling, and gathering with others in mind,” Director of COVID-19 Operations Kristi Moline said in the campus wide email. 

Exposure concerns and questions should be directed to the COVID-19 Hotline at 651-635-8500.