August 13, 2020

Message from the director of health services

As we begin the fall semester, I would like to review some of the steps the College has taken to keep our campus safe. We all have a communal responsibility to preserve our shared health. With this in mind, I would like to share our strategy for testing, symptom tracking, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine for the community. These measures will help to limit the spread of COVID-19 on campus and in our surrounding community. I cannot stress enough that testing and isolation alone will be ineffective if we do not practice the behaviors that limit transmission of the virus such as wearing face coverings, avoiding large social gatherings, practicing physical distancing, cleaning personal spaces, limiting travel, and spending time outdoors when you can.

Testing

All students approved to be on campus are being tested this week at check in. The average turnaround time for results will be about 24 hours, and students will self quarantine during that time. Students will be notified of the results as soon as possible, and those who test positive will transition to housing units designated for this purpose.

Bailey Health Center will conduct surveillance testing on students throughout the semester. Each week, a cohort of students will be asked to report to the health center for testing so that we can effectively monitor the prevalence of infection on campus.

For faculty and staff who are seeking to be tested, testing is available beginning next week. Prior to testing, employees will need to fill out a brief screening questionnaire online or at the health center. Visit the Bailey Health Center website, select the patient portal, enter your Lafayette credentials, and select “forms” on the menu. The COVID-19 screening form will be used to establish a proper ICD-10 insurance diagnostic code for testing. Employees will be given an order for SARS-COV-2 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at Bailey and referred to an off-campus testing facility. If the employee is a member of the College’s medical plan, the cost of the test will be covered by Capital Blue Cross with no member cost.

Bailey Health Center has been designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as an approved point-of-care testing site for COVID-19. We are using the same highly sensitive PCR technology available in hospital laboratories. Our platform can test up to four samples per hour with a turnaround time of 45 minutes. On-site testing will be available during the semester to students and employees with severe symptoms. The availability of testing reagents is still limited due to the surge in cases throughout the country; we will use point-of-care testing selectively for individuals with concerning symptoms.

Symptom tracking

Each morning all approved on-campus students, faculty and staff will be expected to complete a daily symptom and history questionnaire. The personalized link with screening questions can be completed in less than a minute. Based on your responses, you will be prompted to make decisions to keep our campus safe.

Contact tracing

The College has a team of individuals trained and certified to perform contact tracing. We are working collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to enhance internal contact tracing on campus. Students and employees who have come in close contact with an individual with a confirmed positive test will be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks while monitoring for symptoms. Employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 should contact their supervisor and notify the health center so that we may initiate contact tracing and other workplace safety protocols that would include on-campus temperature screening for certain employees. In addition, if you are living in the same household of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, please contact the health center.

Isolation and quarantine

Asymptomatic individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 10 days while monitoring for symptoms. Symptomatic individuals who test positive should isolate for 10 days and have no fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, and symptoms should be resolving. If you are a student, someone from the Health Center will check in with you every day, and meals will be delivered to your residence. If you are an employee, please check in with your personal physician or Bailey Health Center for evaluation and clearance to return to work.

Quarantine refers to separating individuals at increased risk of contracting the virus due to travel from a high-prevalence area or having close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual. Students returning to campus from high-prevalence states must self-quarantine until they are retested one week after arriving on campus. Quarantine due to contact with an individual with COVID-19 is for 14 days regardless of the testing strategy.

After the first day of classes, weekly updates in Lafayette Today will keep members of the community informed of general disease rates on campus.

Working together, I am confident that we can keep our campus community safe. Our health is in each of our hands.

Respectfully,

Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein
Director of Health Services

What is the difference between quarantine and isolation?

Quarantine – For students accessing campus, quarantine entails staying in one’s assigned room and severely limiting contact with others.

Isolation – This entails complete separation from people who have not tested positive.

Campus Life, including Residence Life and Public Safety; Dining Services; and Facilities Operations have worked together with Bailey Health Center to develop protocols that support students for both scenarios.

How will these work for students accessing campus?

Quarantine – This entails staying in one’s assigned room and severely limiting contact with others. Once a student has two negative COVID tests over about a week span, they will be cleared to end quarantine.

Students will be asked to quarantine in place for three reasons. First, they have just arrived on campus and are awaiting test results. Second, they have been identified as a close contact of a COVID-positive person. Third, they are arriving from a recommended quarantine state.

Isolation – This entails complete separation from other people. Students with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis will move into a residence hall set aside for this purpose. Asymptomatic positives will be isolated for 10 days. Symptomatic students will be isolated for at least 10 days, with clearance to leave isolation three days after they are asymptomatic (a minimum of 10 days).

How will students who are quarantined or isolated get meals?

Ideally, students who are self-quarantining will identify a meal buddy to bring them food from the dining hall. Because students are being assigned to single rooms in suites, suitemates would be a good option. The meal buddy will be asked to drop food off outside the quarantined student’s room. More information about the buddy system is available on Bailey Health Center’s website. Students who do not have a friend to deliver food while quarantining will be able to get food delivered by staff. Students arriving early to campus have received specific instructions for their first few days.

Students in isolation will have food delivered by staff once a day to the area immediately inside or immediately outside their residence hall. They will receive weekly menu options from Dining Services and will get three meals a day regardless of meal plan.

All dietary restrictions can be accommodated.

If you have questions about meals while in quarantine or isolation, contact Christopher Brown.

How will symptom monitoring work?

Students in quarantine will be given instructions from Bailey Health Center about what to look for and under what circumstances to call for an appointment.

Students in isolation will receive a daily phone call from Bailey Health Center to check on symptoms and general well-being.

How will the symptom tracking process work? What happens with the data that is submitted?

Each morning all approved on-campus students and all faculty and staff will be expected to complete a daily symptom and history questionnaire. The personalized link with screening questions can be completed in less than a minute.

Faculty & Staff: The first question of the symptom tracker is “are you coming to campus today?” If the answer is “no” then no further questions will be asked and the daily symptom tracker is completed for that day.

Symptom tracking data: Data for faculty and staff is anonymous. Data for students is being collected. The protocols are different for students because their proximity to others in their residences puts them at greater risk.

What services can a student in quarantine or isolation access?

As all instruction and many services will be remote this fall, students in quarantine and isolation will have the same access as all other students.

Classes will continue online.
Counseling services are available for teletherapy appointments only. Learn more about scheduling an appointment.
Academic support services are available remotely. Learn more.
Social opportunities will be offered virtually, with at least one large-scale virtual program per week, and students in isolation or quarantine are welcome to have virtual chats, phone calls, instant messaging conversations, etc.

What are the expectations for students who are quarantining?

While self-quarantining, students should do the following:

Identify a meal buddy to make pickups from the dining hall and drop them off outside your door.
Follow instructions to arrange buddy meal pickup with Dining Services. Buddies will need to pick up meals three times a day or use grab-and-go options for multiple meals at once.
Stay in your room as much as possible, leaving only to use the restroom or in case of emergency.
While en route to and using the restroom (except for showering), wear a face mask.
Disinfect common area surfaces (sink, toilet, shower, etc.) after each use.

It is OK to order food delivery, but have someone else receive the delivery and drop it off at your door.

It is imperative that we exercise great care for each other and follow national, state, and local guidelines designed to keep us safe.

Contact Jennifer Dize if you have any questions about what you can/cannot do, or about something you need while in quarantine.

What are the expectations for students who are isolating?

While in isolation, students should do the following

Not leave their temporary housing assignment for any reason other than a life-threatening emergency such as a fire.
Stay in touch with family and friends via phone, video chat, etc.
Answer Bailey Health Center’s daily phone calls to share symptom information and ask questions.
Review meal options on a weekly basis and communicate them to Dining Services via email.

While in isolation, students’ fob access will be turned off for all buildings.

It is OK to order food delivery as long as you do not interact in person with the delivery person. Many apps that once guaranteed contactless delivery are no longer doing so; verify that delivery will be contactless. The safest route would be to have someone else receive the delivery and drop it off at your building door.

How will contact tracing work?

Contact tracing is used by health departments to help prevent the spread of infectious disease. The College has a team of individuals trained and certified to perform contact tracing. We are working collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to enhance internal contact tracing on campus. Students and employees who have come in close contact with an individual with a confirmed positive test will be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks while monitoring for symptoms. Employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 should contact their supervisor and notify the health center so that we may initiate contact tracing. In addition, if you are living in the same household of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, contact the health center.