0 CommentsDeputy Editor Rania Borgani and Deputy Science Editor Phoebe Lu report on recent discrepancies in class-related, COVID-19 alert emails, diving into notification and contact tracing policies.
As in-person classes have resumed, Columbia and Barnard have recently sent out multiple class-wide alerts to students in classes where there has been a confirmed positive COVID-19 case. These emails, when sent to the entire class, act as a form of contact tracing when the individual who tested positive is not able to identify those within six feet of the identified positive case.
These emails are meant to raise awareness of COVID-19 on campus and encourage students to stay vigilant regarding their symptoms, yet Bwog uncovered discrepancies regarding the recipients in these emails, highlighting the potential differences between Columbia and Barnard contact tracing protocols.
In Professor Jae W Lee’s Advanced Programming class (COMS W3157-01), with more than 400 students, a Barnard student who had attended the in-person lecture tested positive on September 9. As the student could not identify those within six feet of them, Barnard’s contact tracing team sent out an alert. However, only Barnard students taking the class received the email on September 17—with the Columbia students enrolled in the class not receiving the notification.
These contact tracing emails play a crucial role in students’ decisions surrounding in-person lectures. One student (BC ’24), in the same Advanced Programming course, reported that she did not initially feel concerned for their health after only receiving the first contact tracing email sent to Barnard students, but after she received a subsequent contact-tracing email for the same course, she “realized that the situation is getting worse and decided to stop going to class.”
Camille Beatty (SEAS ‘22), also in the same Advanced Programming course, told Bwog that after she got a contact tracing email, she “decided then that with a class that large, the contact tracers would have no way to know who sat next to that student,” citing the “potential for a bad outbreak.”
Beatty also decided to attend class on Zoom on September 21, saying she “received the email that on the day of class [she] stayed home… there was someone who tested positive.” She received this email on September 26, almost a week after the class was exposed.
“Columbia currently says that there is ‘no classroom spread’ but I think their data is seriously behind, and the fact that they took nearly a week to inform the class…just proves that,” Beatty said. (Provost Mary Boyce recently claimed in an email sent to students that “we have no evidence of documented transmission in classroom settings.”)
Beatty did find the contact tracing emails helpful, but wishes they were “more immediate.”
When Bwog reached out to the Columbia contact tracing team to inquire whether there is communication with Barnard’s contact tracing program, especially in the Advanced Programming course, the tracing team confirmed that Barnard and Columbia are in communication, stating that “both institutions are adapting and refining [their] efforts to minimize any difference in communications that Barnard and Columbia students might receive.” In addition, Columbia Health Communications introduced a new update to the alert function, where “Barnard and Columbia will now notify both Barnard and CU students enrolled in a class together in a single email.”
In the same Advanced Programming course, subsequent emails alerting of positive cases were sent to both Barnard and Columbia students.
Recipients of emails have also varied within one undergraduate school itself. In Professor Daniel Bauer’s Data Structures (COMS W3134) course—a class with more than 330 students—only some students received a COVID-19 notification on September 19 from Associate Dean of Students Dr. Tiffany Hughes alerting a positive case. One student (BC ’24) who did not receive a notice noted irregularities in the public alert system, explaining that, “there have been times where I’ve got contact tracing emails…after my friends in the same class…which really just defeats the purpose of informing us that someone tested positive.”
Later that day, another email was sent by SEAS Liaison for Return to Campus Coordination V. Faye McNeill regarding a positive case in the same Data Structures class on the same date as the previous email. At the time of Bwog’s reporting, Professor McNeill’s email does not contain discrepancies present in the earlier email from Dr. Hughes. Though referring to a case on the same date, the two emails stemmed from two different sources; Bwog is unable to verify that the two emails centered around the same positive case.
Another student (CC ‘24) also reported an experience of a discrepancy in reporting regarding those on the waitlist. For a language course he was enrolled in, the professor notified the students in class that a student from the waitlist who had attended the class had tested positive. Despite the alert from the professor, the students of the class did not receive a subsequent official alert from the Columbia contact tracing team. This specific instance further raises questions on Columbia’s process of sending email notifications, and whether waitlisted students who attend classes are accounted for if they test positive themselves.
Bwog has reached out to both Columbia and Barnard for greater clarification on the email notification process. When asked for a step-by-step rundown of the process from testing positive to the email alerts being sent, a Barnard spokesperson and Columbia Health Communications shared that when an individual tests positive for COVID-19, “the first step is interviewing the person who has tested positive,” followed by notifying “the appropriate deans, deans of students, faculty, department chairs, campus contact tracing teams, facilities, close contacts, and class participants that there is a positive case utilizing privacy standards of contact tracing where the case’s identity is not disclosed.”
The Barnard spokesperson provided this contact tracing infographic, which may help “contextualize why students might be hearing about a case from a class they attended the week before.”
The representatives from both teams also mentioned that the list of those who will be notified is “not exhaustive” and the method of notification may also vary on a case-by-case basis.
The Barnard spokesperson and Columbia Health Communications also emphasized how “it is important to also note that the possibility of classroom transmission is considered to be tremendously low given that everyone is masked, and both campuses are vaccinated; both institutions’ contact tracing efforts continue to support this.”
Science Editor Sarah Braner contributed to this report.
The full transcript of Barnard and Columbia’s responses can be found below.
Email from a Barnard Spokesperson, Responding to Bwog’s Questions on September 21:
1. Do Barnard and Columbia share data about who has COVID-19 in which class? If so, how is that sharing of information accomplished?
Barnard and CU Contact Tracing are in close communication so that information can be shared as soon as possible, including after business hours and during weekends. The information shared includes exchanging necessary updates regarding cases in classes on both campuses.
2. What is Barnard’s process when they learn of a positive case in a class? Is there a standardized/streamlined way of contact tracing/alerting those in the class?
The first step is notifying the appropriate Barnard faculty and department chair via email of any class that will need notification. From there, the class is notified, which is also currently via email. Any specific next steps for Barnard students regarding reporting symptoms and follow-up testing are shared in this messaging. The contact tracing team is looking into additional methods of notification.
Email from Columbia Health Communications, Responding to Bwog’s Questions on September 21:
1. Do Barnard and Columbia share data about who has COVID-19 in which class? If, for example, a Barnard student tests positive in a Columbia class, are the Columbia students notified? If so, how is that sharing of information accomplished?
The contact tracing teams at Barnard and Columbia coordinate in instances where Barnard students are in a Columbia class where there is a confirmed case, and vice versa. For Columbia classes, Columbia Health sends a notification via Canvas to students, faculty, and TAs who were in classes the case attended while infectious.
2. What is Columbia’s process when they learn of a positive case in a class? Is there a standardized process from discovering the positive case to alerting those in class? And approximately how much time does it take from discovering the positive case to alerting those in the class?
The contact tracing process is outlined on the COVID-19 website; this process has been in place since summer 2020.
Individuals who test positive are contacted within 1 business day of receiving results, however the speed of the contact tracing process relies heavily on the responsiveness of those who are contacted. Note that the individual who tested positive may inform classmates, faculty, or colleagues; contact tracers will only reach out to these individuals if they are deemed a close contact*.
*defined as someone who has been within 6 feet for over 10 minutes in a single instance or within 6 feet for a cumulative time of 15 minutes or more within a 24-hour period.
Email from Barnard Spokesperson and Columbia Health Communications, Jointly Responding to Bwog’s Questions on September 23:
1. Can you share more information (perhaps step-by-step processes) of how Barnard and Columbia share information? What might have led to a situation like in the Advanced Programming course?
The first step is interviewing the person who has tested positive. We then notify, as needed, the appropriate deans, deans of students, faculty, department chairs, campus contact tracing teams, facilities, close contacts and class participants, that there is a positive case utilizing privacy standards of contact tracing where the case’s identity is not disclosed to anyone receiving the notification. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and that the type of notification received, as well as the method (Canvas notification, telephone, or email) is dependent on the specifics of the individual case.
As we put our plans into practice, both institutions are adapting and refining our efforts to minimize any difference in communications that Barnard and Columbia students might receive. In light of a classroom exposure, Barnard and Columbia will now notify both Barnard and CU students enrolled in a class together in a single email; Barnard will notify Barnard classes, while CU Test and Trace will notify Columbia classes. It is important to also note that the possibility of classroom transmission is considered to be tremendously low given that everyone is masked and both campuses are vaccinated; both institutions’ contact tracing efforts continue to support this.
2. Will students auditing this course be notified of a positive case?
All students that were exposed, even if auditing, are contacted.
3. Generally, are notifications for positive tests sent to those registered or by a different metric?
Notifications are sent to all, faculty, and TAs who are registered for the class where an infectious, positive case was present. The date that the case was in the class is part of the notification.
4. Does Columbia plan on sending contact tracing emails for the rest of the semester? Do they foresee a point where contact tracing emails will no longer be sent? If so, what are these criteria?
Columbia and Barnard will continue to conduct contact tracing as long as is needed to support the community through COVID-19.
Image via Bwog Archives
Contact tracing timeline via Barnard College Communications
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