Yes, face coverings are required to be worn in any interior spaces on campus and outside
Facilities staff have started to increase the air flow in HVAC systems across campus, and has also increased the replacement rate of air filters in HVAC units. While the majority of COVID-19 is droplet (not airborne) transmission, we are implementing these measures out of an abundance of caution.
Covid-19 diagnostic testing will be available for students experiencing symptoms consistent with Covid-19, or recently exposed to a confirmed case of Covid-19. Covid-19 diagnostic testing will not be available on campus for faculty or staff. We urge you to talk with your primary care provider if you feel you should be tested for Covid-19.
No. Temperature screening won’t catch all Covid-related fevers, nor can it identify people who have Covid-19 but do not have a fever. Mass temperature screenings also have the potential to create a false sense of security, because there are other symptoms besides a fever consistent with Covid-19. We encourage all campus community members to self-monitor daily for all symptoms of Covid-19, and follow face covering requirements and social distancing measures.
Individuals who test positive for Covid-19 should alert their supervisor. We will follow the standard cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting services as recommended by CDC and established as the standard of the university.
Interviews will be conducted with the individual with the positive testing to assist with establishing other units or individuals they may have been in contact.
No. We urge all students, faculty, and staff to self-monitor for symptoms consistent with Covid-19. Mass screening does not provide an accurate picture of infection across campus unless testing is completed often and followed up with strict isolation and quarantine measures.
While planning for campus reopening and repopulation of campus with students, mass testing for screening purposes was and is still not recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), or the American College Health Association (ACHA). Testing to diagnose COVID-19 is only one component of a comprehensive strategy to control the spread of COVID-19, and should be used in conjunction with promoting healthy behaviors to reduce transmission, maintenance of healthy environments and operations, and preparing for when someone gets sick. Testing of all students before allowing campus entry, according to the CDC, has not been systematically studied, and no evidence exists that suggests entry-testing provides any reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus.
The priority to test students with symptoms has remained our focus, and has been consistently recommended by the CDC and ACHA. However, asymptomatic students at increased risk for infection will be offered testing based on current local health department guidance.
Currently, those exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or those determined to be exposed via close contact to a confirmed or presumed case of COVID-19 are the populations who should receive diagnostic testing for COVID-19. Testing entire groups of students to determine a perceived level of safety or non-infection is NOT recommended, and should not be relied upon in lieu of social distancing, hand washing, and face coverings. Single administration of testing could miss the early stages of infection and does not offer any protection from future transmission or exposures. One test, at one single point in time, can only provide COVID-19 testing status for that individual for a single specific point in time the test sample was collected.
Yes, COVID-19 diagnostic testing will be available for students experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or recently exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19.
If you are feeling any symptoms associated with Covid-19, you should stay home. Those symptoms have been determined by the CDC.
For the same reason as the above answer, and because of the availability of sampling and testing resources. Large quantity surveillance testing can produce a strain in receiving test results from laboratory partners that are processing the samples – for screening (surveillance testing) to be effective as a public health strategy, results should be received as quickly as possible so that appropriate interventions such as contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation can be made to control any further transmission. The possibility and necessity of surveillance testing will continue to be evaluated as more guidance and resources become available through local, state, federal, and private partners.
Adjustments have been made on the ingress and egress of the dining hall. Appropriate measures are made to:
- Enhanced cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting plans have been implemented
- Take-out options will be extended
- Reduce self-service activity – locations will be managed by an attendant
- Will provide more pre-wrapped items
- Adjustments in the seating capacity, including Red Room Faculty and Staff Dining
Fall break was eliminated to allow for the required number of instructional hours between August 17 and November 25. Without eliminating fall break, we may have been required to hold classes on Saturdays.
This discourages travel during break, and allows students to travel home for Thanksgiving and remain there until the spring semester, reducing the chances of carrying the virus back and forth between home and campus.
Our main focus right now is on the health and safety measures designed to mitigate Covid-19 on-campus, as well as providing a model for academic instruction within those parameters. We expect to have continued discussions as more guidelines are developed around mass gatherings.
CIAA our athletics conference—has made the very difficult decision to suspend our fall athletics season with the potential to move competition to spring. At this time, no decision has been made about winter or spring sports.
The decision has not been finalized whether refunds will be issued for housing and dining. There will not be a refund of tuition and mandatory fees after the start of the semester.
The University’s evacuation strategy to de-densify campus will determine the timing for students to move out. Exceptions will be made for students with extenuating circumstances. Instructions will be sent to students before the spring semester concerning on-campus housing for the next semester.