Let’s Finish the Semester—and this Year—Strong

President Olson provides the last weekly COVID-19 Update, as it is getting quiet on campus as we approach winter break. Dr. Olson encourages students to use support services to finish the semester strong.

Special guest, Provost & VP for Academic Affairs Dr. Darrell Newton gives an end-of-semester thank-you to students for doing their part this semester staying diligent and watching out for one another.

There will be an All-University COVID-19 Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 6 from 2-3:30pm. Get the latest about how WSU is addressing the pandemic in Spring 2021.  

This meeting will be recorded and posted on the WSU COVID-19 website. Please check this website for regular updates.  

Join the Zoom Meeting.

Dial in by phone: US: +1 312 626 6799 | Webinar ID: 932 8508 8508

Take some time for self-care as you finish up your finals.

Things like eating healthy and getting enough sleep will not only help you perform better on your tests and final projects, but it will help keep your immune system strong to help fight off illness when it strikes.

If you left for Thanksgiving break, it is recommended to get tested 5-7 days after you return – which is this weekend Dec. 4–6.

If you are going to return home for winter break, it is recommended to get tested now and again 2-3 days before you leave, around Dec 9-11.

Here’s how to get a COVID-19 test

• Learn how to get a COVID-19 test at WSU Health and Wellness Services if you have had symptoms or been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
• Testing locations in town offer COVID-19 tests even if you have no symptoms or known contact with the virus
• Minnesota offers free, at-home COVID-19 saliva testing for people who believe they need to be tested, with or without symptoms.

If you get tested at an off-campus site, please fill out the self-report form.

As you are packing up your bags, one thing you definitely don’t want to bring home is COVID.

To return home in good health and hopefully virus-free, you should “lay low” these next few weeks until you travel over Winter Break.

Don’t forget about your medical and mental health needs during break!

Health & Wellness Services will be opening during winter break, offering telehealth and in-person appointments as needed.

We will be conducting COVID-19 testing during break by appointment only. Call 507.457.5160 to schedule an appointment.

Want to practice self-care during COVID-19 in a fun way? Join the COVID Bingo Wellness Challenge! Psst! We also got prizes for those who play and participate.

Learn how to join the challenge and download your BINGO card today (PDF).

We are heading into the long haul this winter with temperatures dropping forcing us to move indoors. So, we are facing more limited options to gather safely and keep ourselves entertained and sane over break.

Let’s weather the storm together this holiday season by participating in low-risk activities, avoiding large crowds, and gathering safely.

The WSU campus just isn’t the same without students, so we want you to return. But we need to start the semester slowly, just like in the fall, so we prevent a huge increase in COVID cases.

In the first two weeks of you return to Winona, don’t plan or attend any large gatherings. There will be virtual activities as well as another round of the COVID Bingo Challenge.

Winona also has a ton of fun winter activities that you could do outside. Snowshoeing, cross country skiing, climbing the ice wall – the possibilities are endless!

We don’t know what the world will look like come 2021. There is a great potential for additional surges with the holidays – so we need to count on each other and be careful!