The first full week of classes at Guilford College is in the books and our learning community appears to be doing very well. As we move through the semester, we will be posting weekly updates.
We are encouraged by the overall results of our COVID-19 testing to date. Thus far, of more than 1,000 conducted tests, only 9 (0.9 percent) have returned positive. We are currently managing one active case from within our community; the individual is doing well as they complete their isolation period off campus. We currently have five individuals who are also being monitored in quarantine due to displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or being a close contact of a person who has symptoms of COVID-19.
Now that we have our baseline testing completed, we will transition to our random COVID-19 testing, which starts next Tuesday (Sept. 1) and will continue regularly throughout the semester. Those who are selected for the random testing will be notified today (Friday, Aug. 28). If you are not selected but would still like to be tested, please sign up for a time slot using this link. The testing will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Sternberger Auditorium.
Guilford College is pleased to welcome Kunga Denzongpa '15 back to campus as its Public Health Fellow. Kunga will be working in conjunction with the Coordinator of Student Health and Director of Public Safety to manage campus programs to address the COVID-19 pandemic and promote healthy practices and policies. Kunga graduated with a Biology major (and double minor in Psychology and Business) in May 2015, received a Master's in Public Health in May 2017, and is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Health at UNCG. Kunga will also work collaboratively with the Chair of the Public Health program during the academic year to promote the educational opportunities associated with the fellowship position.
The College continues to urge all members of the Guilford community to proactively protect against, monitor, and report any potential virus symptoms they experience or observe in others. To that end, Guilford asks the community to utilize these tools:
- Daily Health Screening: Guilford College has produced a Daily Health Screening form that will be required for all our community members who are either on campus or planning to come to campus to fill out daily. As an institution of higher education we feel it’s important to educate our community regarding the value of public health and how to be a good consumer of community health services. The College is supporting this effort by using the Daily Health Screening to help connect you with support services, on campus or in your community as needed. We are doing this as part of our commitment to the health and safety of all community members, and in support of the State of North Carolina overcoming this pandemic. In order to enter campus or continue your daily campus experience, you must be free of symptoms potentially related to COVID-19 or have been medically cleared by a physician. This daily health screen will be emailed out to campus members daily beginning next week.
- COVID-19 Self-reporting form: Guilford College has implemented a COVID-19 Self-Reporting Form for faculty, staff and students. The form is to be submitted by an individual when:
- You have been tested for COVID-19
- You have been instructed to self-quarantine for suspected COVID-19 infection
- You have received a positive COVID-19 test result
- Are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, weakness,fatigue, nausea, change in taste or smell)
- Been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual.
This form will be accessible later next week and also will be found on the COVID-19 information page on the Guilford College website.
- Anonymous reporting: We have developed a COVID-19 Anonymous Reporting form to anonymously report a health concern for you or someone else in the Guilford College community regarding a possible COVID-19 health concern; or to report a concern for a fellow community member (faculty, staff, students) not following current Guilford College COVID-19 guidelines. Concerns reported regarding faculty and staff will be directed to human resources, and concerns for students will be sent to Student Affairs.
These forms will be accessible next week and also will be found on the COVID-19 information page on the Guilford College website.
Guilford College will take every effort to protect personally identifiable information shared in these documents and will not disclose your identity or the identity of anyone with a coronavirus diagnosis unless disclosure to safety and first aid personnel is required for emergency treatment or is otherwise required by law.
While our early low number of cases gives cause for optimism, we can anticipate that as testing continues, more cases will be revealed. Accordingly, the Guilford community must remain disciplined and vigilant in following our established health and safety protocols. Frequent hand-washing, consistent mask-wearing, and social distancing remain our strongest allies in warding off and limiting the spread of COVID-19.
For the large part, our community has demonstrated great grace and patience in adhering to new protocols. However, there have been instances of gatherings in larger groups (6 to 8) within a residence hall room where people are not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing. Please know that hosts are responsible for ensuring that health and safety protocols are followed by everyone present at such gatherings. This is a serious health consideration for our entire community.
As such, those who fail to comply with health protocols are subject to possible sanctions — according to our Student Code of Conduct guidelines.
One other observation we are noticing is that face coverings are not being worn properly. The requirement is that we wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth to help protect others in case you’re infected with COVID-19 but don’t have symptoms. We have noticed that some community members are wearing their face covering over their mouths but are not covering their nose. In order to provide maximum protection for yourself and others please wear face coverings properly.
Thank you for taking individual and collective responsibility in keeping our campus healthy and safe. Thanks to all of you, the 2020-21 academic year is off to a promising start! Keep up the great work together and look for our next Town Hall meeting and weekly update — to be held and posted online Sept. 4.
Please remember that if you have any questions related to COVID-19 and our efforts to mitigate the pandemic on campus, please call the COVID-19 Hotline at 336.316.2319.
We are all in this together!
Sincerely,
Jermaine Thomas
Health and Safety Task Force Chair