CS 70 COVID-19 Policies
The course's COVID-19 policies are outlined below.
Background
While we have largely moved past the major COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, COVID-19 remains part of our lives (the CDC recently categorized it as "endemic," which means that it is unlikely to ever go away and needs to be managed on an ongoing basis). It is still possible for new strains to emerge and for infection levels to surge unpredictably.
Though vaccinations mean that many cases of COVID-19 are mild, the virus is still highly disruptive (with symptoms like extreme fatigue and "brain fog") and infectious, and it still may, in some cases, cause long-term health problems lasting weeks, months, or years. Furthermore, some individuals are still at significant risk of serious health problems from a COVID-19 infection.
Nevertheless, recommendations from health agencies have relaxed somewhat from the days of masking in all indoor gatherings. We generally align our policy with those guidelines, though in the event of unforeseen events such as a surge in campus infection rates, we reserve the right to change these policies in response.
Mask-Wearing Policy for CS 70
Masking is optional in CS 70 under most circumstances. Please respect your fellow students' choices about preventative masking.
While in class for CS 70, you must wear a mask if:
- You are sick with symptoms of cold, flu, or COVID-19 or
- You have recently been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, even if you are asymptomatic and testing negative.
Wear an Effective Mask
When masking for the above reasons, you must wear a medical-grade mask (e.g., N95 or KN95) at all times while in class, in the computer labs, and during any other class-related activities.
Do not remove your mask to eat or drink (this is not allowed in the lab anyway!). If you need to eat or drink, please step outside to do so.
Masks must be worn properly in order to work effectively. If your mask easily slips down or doesn't make a good seal, it is not effective.
Use Consensus to Choose Mask Rules for Pair Programming Outside the Lab
Pair programming partners need to make various choices when it comes to their work together, from when and where to meet, to effectively communicate with each other and plan their work. One choice each pair needs to make is whether to work outside of the lab environment and what masking policy to adopt in those circumstances. Like other choices made by a programming pair, this choice, these choices need to be done on a consensus basis.
Understand that if one student is passionate about an issue, it is often easy for the other to decide to “go along” rather than push back. Furthermore, your partner may have a health condition that puts them at particular risk; they are not required to disclose this to you in order to justify a request that you wear a mask. As such, it is important that no one feels pressured to not mask. As a pair, please choose not to be masked only if both members of the pair fully support not being masked.
Don't Attend If You Are Sick
We generally expect you to attend whole-class activities in person. However, because this is a flipped class, there is quite a bit of flexibility about when and where you do your work.
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 please do not attend class in person. In this case, we also relax our usual pair-programming policy; you may collaborate remotely (e.g. over Zoom), ensuring that you still follow the remaining pair-programming guidelines (e.g. using screen share to ensure that the navigator can see what the driver is typing).
Even if you have not tested positive but have symptoms of cold, flu, or COVID-19, we recommend that you not attend class in person to avoid infecting others. However, we understand that symptoms can have a wide range of severity, and leave it to your discretion to navigate these tradeoffs. Please do your best to make decisions that are best for your own health as well as the health of those around you.
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