This semester may look a little different. With that, it may be helpful to have clarification and some general guidance and suggestions as to how NSU is dealing with COVID-19. In a recent conversation with Beth Welmaker, director of Environmental Health and Safety at NSU, The Current found answers to some of those concerns.
How can students best protect themselves and their health this semester?
“If a student wants to check their temperature at any time [in the residence halls] they have the ability to do that. All residence halls [with a reception desk] will be equipped with a thermometer for student-use. Coming back to campus in this environment, you should have a wardrobe now of personal face coverings, with NSU providing two [reusable face coverings] to each student. [Students] should make sure that they have personal cleaning supplies on hand so they are not relying on anyone else. NSU does provide those supplies on campus, in the classrooms and throughout campus, but again, I would encourage everyone to have their own personal supplies to clean up their own areas. Coming prepared to campus with their own ‘personal supply kit’ is a good idea. The time to get a thermometer is not when you are feeling sick because we don’t want you trying to get those supplies when you are not feeling well. Having those supplies on hand is something students should consider.”
The Return of the Sharks Student Guide suggests getting a flu-shot. Why should a student consider that exactly?
“I’m not a MD, but [primarily], it’s because the symptoms of the flu mimic COVID-19. It’s a personal decision. However, we know when flu season is, and in order to avoid the confusion or complexity of trying to discern between ‘are my symptoms flu or COVID-19’, we recommend getting the flu shot. In addition to [discerning symptoms], if you get the flu — which is a respiratory virus — it might put your body in a more compromising position if you are exposed to COVID-19. We want to protect your health and this is just one way you can do that.”
What exactly is the self-assessment on the iShark app?
“It is required that, before coming on campus, every individual, whether you are a student, staff or employee, perform a self-assessment. We don’t want individuals coming to campus that are unwell. Right now, we are mostly concerned with the COVID-19 symptoms, but in general, we don’t want people coming to campus and getting other people sick. If individuals are not feeling well, they should not be coming to campus. The online assessment on the iShark app does not track information. So, it really becomes important that individuals ‘do the right thing.’ It is designed to be a tool — a resource — to help refresh everyone on the current symptoms and the right actions to take.”
If a student is an allergy sufferer, should they stay home?
“The way the self-assessment is written, it can be challenging for those who have allergies. For example, the questions are asking, ‘Are these symptoms new? Is this a new development? Is this something outside your normal realm of health?’ If there is ambiguity in answering those questions, then we encourage those individuals to get clarification from their health care provider. Hopefully, people can discern between if this is allergies [or another known health condition] or a new unusual development.”
If there are any changes to the campus environment (i.e: increase in cases or shutdowns), where should students look to find information?
“We created our first coronavirus website Jan. 24 2020 and we didn’t know it would become a pandemic. From that time, we have created a banner on the top of the website that you can quickly access to receive current updates. We also have the ability to send out NOVA ALERTS and notifications through the iShark app. So, if we need to take any sort of swift action, we have the ability to do so in a variety of ways to get information out quickly. We are prepared to do that if the time comes. This is all things that are outside our control, but we are optimistic that, with the safety measures that we put in place, a [swift action] is not going to be necessary.”
What if a student’s roommate or someone a student interacted with has symptoms or is tested for COVID-19? What should a student do if they have symptoms or are tested for COVID-19?
“When an individual is presenting with COVID-19 symptoms [or has been tested, but has not received results], we are going to assume it is COVID-19 and have them isolate. You have to isolate for 10 days from when you are feeling ill. So, we start to count down from the first day they presented symptoms… The CDC has updated their guidance and recommends that, when you have COVID-19, you have to self-isolate for 10 days. If you have an exposure to an individual presumed or positive for COVID-19, you have to quarantine for 14 days. It’s the same behavior of limiting interactions, but different terminology. It may be helpful to remember ‘When I have COVID-19, I isolate. When I’m exposed, I quarantine.’”
When should I get tested and where can I receive a test?
“We have on-site testing for all students and we accept all major health insurance coverage. If a student is feeling unwell, they can call telehealth and a doctor will go through the symptoms with them, and if they agree the symptoms are COVID-like, then they will schedule them for testing on campus.“
How can students best prepare for this semester amongst this pandemic?
“Residential Life has asked every student to come up with their personal COVID-19 plan. So, every student should have on file what their intended plan should be if they personally contract COVID-19. For the students that are not living on campus, they should consider their own plan. Everyone should consider their own plan in case they contract the virus and what their intent is, whether that be to self-isolate in their rooms or travel home, etc. Some people could have a very mild COVID-19 experience and would be able to take classes from their room and return back to campus later. It may be a really good strategy to practice redundancy and make a plan if you are involved in organizations to refer work to others or plan for someone to step in, in case someone were to get sick. Planning like that is now necessary in the times that we are facing.”
How exactly will contract tracing work for NSU community cases?
“In the state of Florida, contract tracing is only legally allowed to be done by the Department of Health (DOH). NSU supports and helps the DOH by providing them information when we can and when we have the information. So, we will not be doing the contact tracing phone calls, but we support their efforts. An example might be that a student tests positive and attended class. So, we will provide the DOH with the roster of those students in case the DOH wants to contact those individuals. All NSU classrooms are reconfigured to CDC guidelines of six feet apart so if a student tests positive the whole class doesn’t necessarily need to quarantine, but the DOH could still call those students to check up on them.”
How much of an impact can an individual student’s effort make?
“The impact and power that students possess in the direction that this is going to take is significant. There is a campaign to “Turn the tide” and I truly believe that students have the opportunity to turn the tide on this. They have the opportunity to not follow physical distancing regulations and that may pose the biggest challenge to students this semester. But we had data from monitoring the trends that show that, as long as we respect physical distancing, we are not spreading the virus. It will be interesting to see, as students return to campus, whether or not we will be able to contain an outbreak — if one presents itself — or if we are able to successfully contain it and prevent its spread — and that largely depends on the decisions of the individuals themselves.”
If students have any other questions or concerns please email covidcase@nova.edu
