President Hanlon, Gail Gentes Test Positive for COVID-19

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The couple is isolating at the President’s House.

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Baker Tower and spring buds
Photo by Eli Burakian ’00
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President Philip J. Hanlon ’77 and his wife, Gail Gentes, have tested positive for COVID-19.

The couple take PCR tests routinely, most recently on Thursday when each tested negative.  However, on Sunday morning, they took rapid antigen tests, both of which were positive. President Hanlon says he has no symptoms and feels fine. Gentes says she is “a bit under the weather” but is not suffering serious symptoms.

“We’re following Dartmouth’s protocols and will isolate in our home,” Hanlon says. “Like everyone on our campus, I’ve learned to work remotely, and I will continue to do that through our isolation period.”

Axiom Medical, Dartmouth’s occupational medicine provider, will undertake appropriate contact tracing following Hanlon’s and Gentes’ tests.

The pair’s positive tests come as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week reported that 60% of Americans, including 75% of children, had been infected with COVID-19 by this past February.

As of this past Friday, there had been just under 350 active confirmed cases of the virus reported to Dartmouth over the preceding seven days, according to Dartmouth’s COVID-19 dashboard. A case is considered active when a person is in their isolation period or is beyond that period but continues to have symptoms or receive care.

Throughout the pandemic, there have been no reported cases of students, faculty, or staff needing hospitalization as a result of contracting the virus.

“The positive test is a reminder that we all should continue to take seriously the public health guidelines and stay up to date on our booster shots,” says Hanlon.

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