Date: October 15, 2021
To:  THE NYU COMMUNITY
From:  Katherine Fleming, Provost
Martin Dorph, Exec. Vice President
Dr. Carlo Ciotoli, Exec. Lead, NYU COVID-19 Prevention & Response Team

We hope you’re healthy and your semester is progressing well.

Well-being and Coping with Transitions

Last year’s isolation was challenging for many of us, but this year’s resumption of in-person activities brings its own set of challenges to our sense of well-being.  Stress, anxiety, and difficulty reconnecting with other members of the community as we again take up many pre-COVID activities are not uncommon.

You are not alone, you don’t have to try to “tough it out on your own,” and the University can help.  

The Wellness Exchange is a 24/7 resource for students staffed with professionals that can help you through a hard time and connect you to a wide range of services, including same-day Urgent Counseling sessions.

We know the transition has been tough for some faculty, administrators, and staff, too. The University’s Employee Assistance Program is available to provide you with support if you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious, or just need someone to speak with confidentially.

Moving the BioReference Testing Site for Discretionary and Required Weekly Testing

Beginning Monday, October 18, the BioReference Testing Center will move from its current location at 18 Cooper Square to 50 West 4th St. (the Gould Welcome Center, which is just east of Bobst Library).

If you are required to be tested weekly or are seeking discretionary testing, beginning next week, you should go to the 50 West 4th St. location. Binx testing (the saliva test) also remains available to the NYU community (find Binx test kit locations here).

Get Your Flu Shot

Getting a flu shot is more important during the pandemic, not less.

NYU is offering free flu shots for employees and for students.

COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters

Members of the NYU community who qualify for COVID-19 vaccine booster can receive them through the Student Health Center’s vaccine clinic, or through any other provider.

Testing Data

For the most recent week posted on the dashboard—October 4 - 10—the University recorded 50 new cases and a positivity rate of 0.7%, significant declines from the start of the semester. We continue to see no evidence of transmission in the classroom.

The trend of these findings are in line with data from other universities that showed declines following an uptick at the start of the semester.

We share these findings advisedly, and offer this caution: the need to conscientiously observe the University’s safety and health protocols...

  • wearing a mask
  • staying home if sick
  • avoiding large crowds indoors or where people are not wearing masks
  • reporting your COVID symptoms, contacts with COVID-positive individuals,
  • or positive tests

...is no less great now than previously.  It is vital to abide by these and all the other health rules to keep each other safe.  COVID-19 has been an unpredictable disease, and these downward trends should not be taken as a reason to become careless.

NYS HERO Act

We have established a section of the NYU Returns hub for information about the New York State HERO Act. There are links to the final draft of the plan, as well as to the training module (in iLearn), which all NYU employees are expected to complete by November 30, 2021.

Halloween

Our general advice is to:

  • Have fun, but act responsibly—you should know the rules and good practices by now.
  • Wear a mask (by which we mean the protective kind, not the Scream kind, though fine to wear the former under the latter).
  • Avoid situations where you are crowded in with others, even outdoors, but particularly indoors, and especially if others aren’t wearing masks.
Keep each other Safe