An open letter calling for UW to implement more robust COVID-19 measures has picked up traction, receiving an endorsement from the World Health Network as well as a response from the university.

The letter was addressed to UW senior administration by the COVID Action, Response, and Equity (CARE) Coalition, a group made up of students, faculty, staff and alumni. It has garnered about 150 signatures so far, including UW Climate Justice Ecosystem, the UW QTPOC KW, and the School of Public Health Sciences Graduate Students’ Association.

Ryan Tennant is a member of the CARE Coalition and a UW student for about a decade, starting his undergraduate career in the biomedical engineering program. “Ultimately, we really believe that what the letter is asking for is reasonable safety measures during an ongoing pandemic of an airborne virus,” he said. “We really believe that the institution can step up and show that leadership, and could be a global model of what other institutions should do.”

The coalition is asking for improved communication about COVID-19, indoor air quality measures, accessibility on campus to rapid tests and N95 masks, ongoing monitoring and response to COVID-19 risk on campus, online options for in-person events and classes, and more.