SAN ANGELO, Texas — Angelo State University is just six days away from the end of the fall 2020 semester, which vice president of students affairs Don Topliff said he was never even sure the university would be able to get through. However, they almost have - and with relatively few COVID-19 cases.
Topliff was one of the many people who spent months leading up to the fall semester organizing a plan for students and staff.
"We're still stressed and unsure, but overall, I think the semester has gone really well," he said.
In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus, Angelo State put dozens of restrictions in place this fall. For example, students have to wear face masks at all times, classrooms are set up to ensure everyone is keeping a social distance, and students must complete a wellness screening at the start of each day, before coming to campus. Topliff said the wellness screenings made all of the difference.
"As soon as a student or faculty member or staff member failed our daily wellness screening on the app, we had contact tracers in contact with them within a matter of minutes. That helped us know who they had been in contact with and be sure we had that information to help us really stay on top of any outbreaks we might have had," Topliff said.
As of November 18, Angelo State has reported 274 total cases of COVID-19 since July. For a school with nearly 11,000 students, Topliff said that's a pretty good number.
"We didn't even think we'd be able to finish the semester in person. Thanks to our students and staff members, we were able to keep cases at a minimum," he said.
Once students leave for Thanksgiving break, they will not return to campus until January 25. Topliff said the university plans on keeping the same restrictions in place when the spring semester begins.