The rapid and devastating spread of COVID-19 has forced Morehouse to cancel its homecoming activities, though the scheduled football game will be played, school officials announced Friday.
“Unfortunately, because of the escalating spread of the COVID-19 virus in Georgia, the Homecoming festivities scheduled for the week of October 10-17, 2021, including the traditional tailgating, have been canceled and will not be rescheduled,” Morehouse President David A. Thomas wrote in a letter posted on the school’s website.
Thomas said the campus has worked to mitigate the spread of the virus throughout its grounds through a mandatory vaccination policy, mask requirements, social distancing edicts, and “robust symptom tracking.”
“The near 100% rate of students and employees who have met our vaccination requirement, along with frequent testing and monitoring, has allowed the College to create a relatively closed campus environment where the vaccination and COVID positivity status of each student and employee is known,” Thomas said.
The traditional homecoming will be replaced with a student-only event limited to Morehouse students and employees.
Also read: Morehouse College releases 2021 football schedule
The impact on football will be negligible as Morehouse’s Oct. 16 game versus Fort Valley State is still scheduled to be played with limited tickets to allow for physical distancing.
“Unfortunately, this week, Georgia broke a record for COVID-19 hospitalizations,” said Thomas. “The state has the sixth-highest per capita infection rate in the nation and an unprecedented number of young people have become ill with the virus. Given the circumstances, a massive in-person gathering on our campus presents a public health risk to our students which is impossible to ignore. Keeping our students safe is our top priority.”
