COVID-19 Message
November 10, 2020
Faculty, Staff, and Students,
As we continue to move through this COVID-19 pandemic, I want to keep you informed of the requirements pertinent to maintaining the safety of our campus:
- On October 21, the CDC revised their definition of close contacts to include any instance where a person is within 6 feet of an individual with COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more during a single 24-hour period. This underscores the importance of maintaining a social distance of at least 6 feet from others at ALL times. This is key to eliminating any transmission on campus.
- UTHSC students and employees must continue to report positive diagnoses and the need
to quarantine following close contact with known positive individuals:
- UTHSC students must report this to their Associate Dean, Department Chair, Program Leader, or Division Director, who will then report this information to Campus Safety by emailing Tim Barton at tbarton4@uthsc.edu.
- UTHSC employees must report this via the HR Notice of COVID-19 Occurrence form on the HR website.
- Following a close contact with a known positive individual, you must quarantine for 14-days before returning to campus based on testing results. University Health Services will reach out to individuals that have received either a positive diagnosis or those who have been quarantining to coordinate their safe return to campus.
- Observance of campus guidelines, including the use of face masks and social distancing, can challenge social norms and routine work practices pre-COVID. Supervisors and professors should provide ongoing support to their employees and students by raising awareness when they see at-risk behavior and prompting them with reminders about compliance.
- Our behavior at home and in social situations off campus has a major impact on our colleagues and our patients. As health care providers, many of us are actively seeing patients, and must avoid gatherings or behaviors where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is high. At-risk behavior by us places our colleagues and patients at risk.
Thank you for your continued compliance with the COVID-19 safety measures, as we work hard to keep our campus safe from this virus!
Steve J. Schwab, MD
Chancellor