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SU community members who test positive for COVID-19 are required to isolate for 10 days regardless of vaccination status, according to a campus-wide email.

Vaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19 and are asymptomatic can choose to wear a mask for 14 days following the exposure or take a COVID-19 test three to five days after exposure and wear a mask until the test results are available, Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, said in the email. If the individual tests positive, they will have to isolate for 10 days.

Vaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19 and are symptomatic must immediately isolate themselves and should only leave their residence to receive a COVID-19 test, the email wrote. If the test is positive they must isolate for 10 days. If the initial test is negative they should get a follow-up COVID-19 test three to five days after exposure.

Unvaccinated people exposed to COVID-19 must quarantine for 10 days. SU will continue to offer free isolation housing for students who reside both on and off campus, Haynie said.

Beginning Monday, SU will begin to randomly test vaccinated students and faculty. The university will email a portion of its vaccinated on-campus population to be tested. SU will use the results from these tests to better understand breakthrough infections on campus and determine mitigation strategies, Haynie said in the email.

Vaccine-exempt students who do not comply with the requirement will not be allowed to attend in-person classes, and they will be prohibited from Wi-Fi, Blackboard and campus buildings.

Faculty who do not follow the testing requirements will be subject to disciplinary action, Haynie said.

All students must have been fully vaccinated or have a medical or religious vaccination exemption by June 1 in order to access campus facilities, Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a campus-wide email in April. People with a vaccination exemption must be tested weekly.

The university introduced a COVID-19 alert system with four levels in order to better communicate COVID-19 related news and guidelines to the campus community on Aug. 13. SU is currently on the “BLUE” alert level, which means that all unvaccinated people are required to wear a mask both indoors and outdoors, and vaccinated people are recommended to wear a mask indoors when they’re with others and outdoors in large group settings. Everyone, regardless of vaccination status, is required to wear a mask during academic instruction.

The SU public health team will reassess the COVID alert levels and update the COVID dashboard every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Published on August 26, 2021 at 9:43 pm

Contact Shantel: [email protected] | @shantelguzman2