Guidance for Student Self-Isolation - Spring 2022

Guidance for Student Self-Isolation - Spring 2022

These guidelines pertain to you if you are a student who either:

1) Has been instructed to self-isolate while waiting on your COVID-19 test results

OR

2) Is self-isolating pending receiving medical consultation about a COVID symptom.

This guidance is NOT for students who have been instructed to isolate based on a positive test result. Wellness Service and/or your healthcare provider will provide that guidance.

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It is very common for people infected with COVID-19 to be asymptomatic, so it is important that you consider yourself a positive case until proven otherwise.

It is also imperative that you conduct a daily symptom check for COVID symptoms.

These symptoms include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• New loss of taste or smell
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Congestion or runny nose
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Diarrhea
• Nausea or vomiting.

Take your temperature every day.

If you experience any of these symptoms or are exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19, you are required to use the online COVID Symptom Check and Reporting form on the Health Portal (https://lclark.medicatconnect.com/login.aspx) to report your symptoms/exposure. Wellness staff will follow up with you either via a secure message in the Health Portal, or via phone. (Be sure to answer your phone, and have your voicemail set up.)  Please be aware that on Saturdays, staff only monitor this form from noon until 2 pm. Staff do not monitor the form on Sundays, holidays, and over break periods.

Information for Symptomatic Students in Residence on the Undergraduate Campus:

• Stay in your room/home. When you must leave your room (e.g., to use the restroom), wear a face mask. Wear a face mask whenever you are around other people, even your roommate. If you have a single room on campus, you do not need to wear a face mask when you are alone in your room. Remember that disposable masks are not meant for extended use. Dispose of them if they get dirty or too moist from breathing. Whenever you are not using your mask, cover your cough. If you are using a cloth mask, make sure you are washing it regularly. This can be done by hand, in a sink with hot water and soap, if you do not have access to a laundry room or services.
• Avoid using shared bathroom facilities at the same time as other students.
• Wipe down surfaces before and after use with disinfectant wipes or spray.
• Dine in your room. Do not go out for food. Students in residence can sign up for meal delivery by filling out this form.

Information for Everyone Self-Isolating:

• Perform hand hygiene frequently. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, covering all surfaces of your hands and rubbing them together until they feel dry. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Use tissues when coughing and wash hands afterwards.
• For fever >100.4, you may use over-the-counter acetaminophen 325mg 2 tabs every 4 hrs or ibuprofen 200mg 2 tabs every 4 hrs.
• Make sure that spaces that you share with others in your residence have the best possible airflow (e.g, open windows, weather permitting).
• You should not share dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels, bedding, or other items. (Use disposable items and discard appropriately).
• Wash laundry thoroughly.
• Whenever you have the resources to do so, clean all “high-touch” surfaces, such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables every day. Use a household cleaning spray or wipe, according to the label instructions.
• Place all used disposable gloves, face masks, and other contaminated items in a lined container before disposing of them with other household waste. Clean your hands (with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) immediately after handling these items. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty.

Accessing Healthcare:

If you ever experience any of the following symptoms, seek emergency medical help:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

*This list is not all possible symptoms. Please call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you.

If you live on campus, contact Campus Safety 24/7 at 503-768-7777. Share you need emergency medical help and be sure to disclose that you have been self-isolating. They will call 911. If you live off-campus, call 911.

The Health Service is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and also has limited hours on Saturdays from noon until 2 p.m. Students can make COVID-related telehealth appointments through the Health Information Portal. Students with other health-related problems should call the Health Service at 503-768-7165 to schedule an appointment. Saturday appointments are reserved for students who have symptoms that develop on Friday or on Saturday morning. Saturday appointments can be scheduled starting on the Friday afternoon before. Anytime the Health Service is closed and you need a medical consultation, you should contact our free nurse consultation line at 1-877-617-9531. 

If you need assistance after business hours or over the weekend, call the free Nurse Consultation Service at 1-877-617-9531.