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美国国家公共电台 NPR--Colleges ease COVID-19 restrictions as fall semester begins for millions of students

时间:2023-08-14 03:02来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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Colleges ease COVID-19 restrictions1 as fall semester begins for millions of students

Transcript2

Millions of students are heading back to college for their third full academic year since the COVID pandemic hit. But as students move into their dorms and sign up for classes this year, things are different.

On many campuses, the masking restrictions are gone. Classes are being held in-person, testing requirements are loosening, and quarantine and isolation3 dorms have been returned to regular housing. College officials say the goal of easing these restrictions is to try and get students back to a more typical college experience.

"I don't think we can just forget about COVID at all," says Lisa Pearlman, the director of student health services at Worcester Polytechnic4 Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts. "But I do think we can kind of live with COVID for the first time and still do all of the other normal things. And that feels really different about this year than the past two,"

While the average number of cases every day in the U.S. has been above 100,000 for the last several weeks, it has slowly decreased heading into fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalizations and deaths are far lower than they've been in other phases of the pandemic and are currently declining.

At WPI, where Pearlman works, they have discontinued weekly surveillance testing and shifted to providing rapid tests only for those experiencing symptoms or who have been exposed to COVID-19. Masks are no longer required on campus (apart from health care settings) and most students will now need to arrange their own isolation and quarantine space.

"We're really trying to kind of empower our community to make decisions on their own, to get the help and support that they need," Pearlman says. "We're not going to, like, micromanage what everybody's doing in the same way that we have been for the past 2 1/2 years."

This shift follows new CDC guidance released in August that puts more focus on how individuals should go about making their own decisions about risk and what precautions they make to reduce that risk.

Students move in, prepared for a different kind of college experience

Outside Grace & Broad, a residence hall at Virginia Commonwealth5 University in Richmond, students and families are moving in for the fall semester.

Some COVID precautions are still in place, including limits on the number of people who can help move students in. But there's also a sense of things getting back to normal. One welcome change from the COVID-times: The large cardboard boxes on wheels have returned, so students can pile several of their own boxes in and make far fewer trips.

"This year is already way easier than last year because of COVID stuff," explains junior Jenna Curia, who is helping6 her boyfriend, Donovan Green, also a junior, move into the dorm.

They're both vaccinated7, and though the school is not requiring vaccines9 this fall, they feel "much safer" than in previous semesters. "The first year, when things were really serious, I didn't go out whatsoever," explains Green.

Last year, he went to a few parties — but mostly with students he already knew. "Because of COVID the rules were a lot stricter on social stuff, like who you could bring in [to dorms]," he says, "but this year it is a lot looser." He still plans on playing it safe, since the virus is "still out there."

The biggest difference for Curia and Green is that most classes are now in-person. "I've only had one in-person class during my first two years of college," says Curia. "I'm fully10 in-person this semester, so I'm very excited."

Both students are looking forward to hanging out after class to talk with professors, and making friends with fellow students. They say their online classes made it harder to make friends and connect with others about what they were learning.

Even with fewer precautions, colleges should keep their guard up

The beginning of the semester, when there's a lot of student migration11, is when cases tend to go up. While some smaller schools are still requiring students to get tested when they arrive, it has become far less common. Instead, universities are suggesting that students self-test before they move in or arrive on campus.

In many cases, testing and vaccination12 clinics will be available during move-in days and during the first few weeks of the semester, before phasing out.

"COVID is not quite as scary as it was three years ago. However, it is not gone," says Gerri Taylor, co-leader of the COVID Task Force for the American College Health Association. "So colleges really cannot be complacent13 at this point. They've got to watch numbers. They've got to watch trends on campus, trends in the local community, in their state, and be able to pivot14 very quickly."

While many of the COVID-19 dashboards tracking positive cases remain updated, many schools have dissolved, cut back, or renamed their COVID-19 task forces, which administrators15 formed to deal with the virus. Many of those groups have expanded to develop plans for monkeypox and other health concerns.

"These groups and task forces have been really successful and extremely valuable," says Taylor. "Campuses need to continue them because we don't know what's around the corner."

Campuses have the tools to deal with COVID, even if restrictions are eased

The two-plus years of dealing16 with the pandemic taught colleges a lot about the virus and what mitigation efforts work. A recent study demonstrated that campus vaccine8 mandates17 had a substantial effect on infection and death rates in nearby areas, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. The research concludes that those mandates likely reduced total U.S. deaths from the virus by about 5% — or more than 7,300 lives — during the fall 2021 semester.

"It's just astronomical18 how much we have learned in the past two years," says Pearlman at WPI. That knowledge is lowering her level of stress this fall. "I feel really comfortable entering this year, and that is a new feeling for me. It's the first time I can say that."

Removing some of the COVID restrictions on social gatherings19 is also an important aspect of supporting students on campus, says Eileen Hineline, a registered nurse and the director of the student health center at Barry University in Miami.

"We're trying to get back to not being afraid to socialize," she says. "We've seen the increase in mental health issues from having so many of our students isolated20. This is an important time in their lives that they absolutely need to have that social contact."

She says she's heartened by how much colleges have learned about COVID and by data showing that individuals who are vaccinated and skew younger — such as college students — are having mild cases.

"What is different right now than three years ago," Hineline says, "is that we understand the virus a lot more. We're dancing with the devil that we know. And we've definitely learned who this devil is and what we can do about it."

Megan Pauly, a reporter at Virginia Public Media, contributed to this story.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
2 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
3 isolation 7qMzTS     
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
参考例句:
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
4 polytechnic g1vzw     
adj.各种工艺的,综合技术的;n.工艺(专科)学校;理工(专科)学校
参考例句:
  • She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读,准备毕业后做老师。
  • When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时,爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院,学习数学和物理学。
5 commonwealth XXzyp     
n.共和国,联邦,共同体
参考例句:
  • He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
  • Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。
6 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
7 vaccinated 8f16717462e6e6db3389d0f736409983     
[医]已接种的,种痘的,接种过疫菌的
参考例句:
  • I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
  • Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗?
8 vaccine Ki1wv     
n.牛痘苗,疫苗;adj.牛痘的,疫苗的
参考例句:
  • The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
  • She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。
9 vaccines c9bb57973a82c1e95c7cd0f4988a1ded     
疫苗,痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
  • The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。
10 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
11 migration mDpxj     
n.迁移,移居,(鸟类等的)迁徙
参考例句:
  • Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
  • He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。
12 vaccination bKGzM     
n.接种疫苗,种痘
参考例句:
  • Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
  • Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。
13 complacent JbzyW     
adj.自满的;自鸣得意的
参考例句:
  • We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
  • She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。
14 pivot E2rz6     
v.在枢轴上转动;装枢轴,枢轴;adj.枢轴的
参考例句:
  • She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴,表现出万物的女性面貌。
  • If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧,手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。
15 administrators d04952b3df94d47c04fc2dc28396a62d     
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 );有管理(或行政)才能的人;(由遗嘱检验法庭指定的)遗产管理人;奉派暂管主教教区的牧师
参考例句:
  • He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员,但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
  • Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
16 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
17 mandates 2acac1276dba74275e1c7c1a20146ad9     
托管(mandate的第三人称单数形式)
参考例句:
  • Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
  • While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处,我不是授权软件的支持者。
18 astronomical keTyO     
adj.天文学的,(数字)极大的
参考例句:
  • He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
  • Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。
19 gatherings 400b026348cc2270e0046708acff2352     
聚集( gathering的名词复数 ); 收集; 采集; 搜集
参考例句:
  • His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
  • During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次,其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。
20 isolated bqmzTd     
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句:
  • His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
  • Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
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