Following a positive designation from the state and weeks of declining COVID-19 cases, Lamar Community College (LCC) is safely returning to campus -- completely.

Prowers County has been designated as a green county, which indicates the state believes the region is safe to return to many in-person activities and that the county has a very low incidence of new confirmed cases of COVID-19. This new designation allows students, faculty and staff to begin to return to their offices and classrooms as of Monday, April 5. All on-campus students and personnel will still be required to wear masks and observe social distancing when in shared and common spaces. The transition to all staff on campus is anticipated to be completed by April 12.

LCC President Dr. Linda Lujan said safety and providing an excellent education for all students will continue to be the top priorities for LCC.

“It's been a long year, but I know we are all feeling hopeful about the future,” she said. “We are looking forward to safely seeing everyone’s faces again, even if it’s behind a mask and socially-distanced.”

The transition back to pre-pandemic “normal” will take some time, however. Classes that are currently held virtually or synchronous remote will continue in that modality through the end of the semester. Many virtual services for students will also still be available to make LCC accessible and safe for all, according to Lujan. The college will continue to offer a variety of remote learning options for students in future semesters.

Lujan said the green designation from the state is evidence of the hard work put in by faculty, staff and students to curb the spread of COVID-19. LCC will continue to monitor the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and state and local health department guidelines. Should it become unsafe to be on campus, LCC will adjust accordingly, Lujan said, and will keep all students and personnel informed of any changes.

In an internal memo, Lujan encouraged staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine to increase the overall safety of everyone on campus. As of April 2, the state of Colorado has opened up accessibility to the vaccine to all over age 16.