When Brock University moved online on December 16, 2021, there were just over 2,800 reported new cases of COVID-19. On January 14, 2022, Brock announced that it would be re-opening its dining halls and residences, signalling that in-person learning will return in February. Also on January 14, 2022, the province announced nearly 11,000 new COVID-19 cases, with over 3,800 patients hospitalized for the illness. This case count is also likely a gross underestimate due to strict testing limitations. 

Though the booster is 80% effective against severe illness from Omicron, it offers significantly less protection against contracting the illness than it did for previous variants. Given that Brock is a community of over 19,000 students and approximately 6,000 staff members, many of us do not feel safe returning to campus with such high and continuously increasing case numbers. 

We feel as if our risk of being infected with COVID-19 would be greatly reduced if the school pushed the return to campus deadline to the end of February, or until case numbers have significantly decreased. We feel as though this is the best option to protect the mental and physical health of students who have already dealt with such a tumultuous two years. We believe the university should have a strong interest in protecting its students well-being and that it does not make sense to return to campus during the worst peak of the pandemic to date. We are asking the University, Interim President Lynn Wells to please consider our health and safety in these up-coming weeks. We believe this is the right decision for our well-being and hope you will take it into consideration.