COVID-19: Employee action steps

Working Remotely

• Seek testing with LVHN (see instructions below) or an independent testing site.

Working on Campus

Contact a LVHN employee health nurse. Call 610-861-8080, select 5 to bypass menu and enter extension 21237. If you seek a test with an independent testing site, you will also need to contact the Bailey Health Center if you test positive for COVID-19.

• Capital BlueCross has advised that they will cover testing with no member copay when the test is ordered by a healthcare provider, under circumstances such as diagnostic testing for symptoms consistent with COVID-19, confirmed exposure to an individual diagnosed with COVID-19, and/or concern about exposure to individuals or groups suspected of having COVID-19.
• For more information on testing coverage with Capital BlueCross and resources for members, please refer to the Capital BlueCross Coronavirus Resources website.
• Stay home. Most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home without medical care. Do not leave your home, except to obtain medical care. Do not visit public areas.
• Take care of yourself. Get rest and stay hydrated. Take over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen, to help you feel better.
• Stay in touch with your healthcare provider. Call before you obtain medical care.  Be sure to seek and obtain care if you have trouble breathing, or have any other emergency warning signs, or if you think it is an emergency.
• Separate yourself from other people. As much as possible, stay in a specific room and away from other people and pets in your home. If possible, use a separate bathroom. If you need to be around other people or animals in or outside the home, wear a cloth face covering.
• In all cases, follow the guidance of your healthcare provider. The decision to stop home isolation* should be made in consultation with your healthcare provider and state and local health departments. Some people, for example those with conditions that weaken their immune system, might continue to shed virus even after they recover.

• Quarantine* yourself from others.
• Do not return to campus or meet with other members of the Community until:
  • You have been cleared by your healthcare provider, if applicable, and
  • You have been cleared for return by the College

Working Remotely

1. Contact your healthcare provider to coordinate care and a return to work plan, if you are not well enough to complete your work remotely due to COVID-19.
2. Your healthcare provider will be responsible for your care.
3. Isolate*

Working on Campus

1. Contact Bailey Health Center.
2. Contact your supervisor.
3. Contact your healthcare provider to coordinate care and a return to work plan.
4. Do not return to campus until you have been cleared by your healthcare provider and by the College.

You will be notified by a healthcare professional and instructed to contact your primary healthcare provider, who will be responsible for your care.

Notification will also be sent to the Office of Human Resources and other administrators who need the data to ensure you are paid appropriately and to support COVID-19 mitigation efforts on campus and in our community.

A member of the College’s internal contact tracing team will contact you, and you’ll be expected to participate fully in tracing efforts. Our team will collaborate with the Pennsylvania Department of Health for contact tracing external to the College.

If you are identified in contact tracing or you identify yourself as exposed, you need to quarantine*.

• Employees who have had close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 person should notify their supervisor and Human Resources, remain at home for 14 days, and actively monitor symptoms.
• Employees who are well but who have a family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and Human Resources and stay home.

Working Remotely

In accordance with the above, you will be paid under the category ‘fitness for duty’ (you will not need to use your sick or vacation pay) for any time you are not well enough to complete your work remotely due to COVID-19.

Working on Campus

In accordance with the above, you will be paid (you will not need to use your sick or vacation pay) while unable to work due to:

• A positive COVID-19 test result
• Recovery from COVID-19
• While quarantining*:
  • due to your own symptoms
  • due to exposure to others with COVID-19
  • while waiting for testing
  • while waiting for test results
  • if you are identified in contract tracing as having potentially been exposed

Working Remotely

Do not return to campus until you have been cleared to do so by both your healthcare provider and by the College.

Staff and faculty without symptoms are expected to remain off campus for a minimum of 10 days after the date of the positive result. If your healthcare provider finds that your illness requires a more extensive medical treatment and a longer absence from work, provide documentation to Human Resources.

Working on Campus

Do not return to campus until you have been cleared by both your healthcare provider and by the College to return.

You may not return to work until you have satisfied the isolation* requirements (below) and been cleared.

Requirements:

• No fever for at least 72 hours without taking any fever-reducing medications (i.e., acetaminophen, ibuprofen, etc.).
• Resolution, or almost total resolution, of respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, etc.). Indicators of this include:
  • Ability to take 3 deep breaths without coughing
  • Ability to climb a flight of steps (10 to 12) without significantly more shortness of breath than your usual baseline
  • No coughing during a 5-minute conversation
  • Fatigue or any other symptoms beyond mild residual will require a greater period of home recovery time.
• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
• A note from your healthcare provider.

Once you return to work, you do not have to report for weekly testing for 90 days after your positive test result.

Staff and faculty without symptoms are expected to remain off campus for a minimum of 10 days after the date of the positive result. If your healthcare provider finds that your illness requires a more extensive medical treatment and a longer absence from work, provide documentation to Human Resources.

Contact a LVHN employee health nurse. Call 610-861-8080, select 5 to bypass the menu and enter extension 21237.

Email together@lafayette.edu and a member of the College’s COVID-19 Operational Implementation Group will respond.