Between the Zoom calls, classroom capacities, limited gathering sizes and masks covering the faces of every Shark, it’s hard to miss the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on NSU.
In 2020, NSU implemented the Return of the Sharks COVID-19 guidelines to help students stay safe while still being active members of the campus community. Students, faculty and staff can visit NSU’s dedicated COVID-19 website, www.nova.edu/coronavirus, for up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 at the university. To read articles previously published by The Current pertaining to the pandemic, including news, features, sports, arts and entertainment and opinion pieces, visit this webpage.
If a student is having any symptoms, they are advised to reach out to NSU’s Telehealth line at (954) 262-4100, where they will be connected to a physician who will review their symptoms and, if needed, schedule a COVID-19 test on campus. Additionally, students can email COVIDcase@nova.edu to provide updates on their symptoms and test results, even if the results are still pending, and to get assigned a COVID-19 case manager to oversee the situation and offer assistance, if necessary. Emailing COVIDcase will also immediately provide students with the Telehealth number, as well as links to employee and graduate/professional student report forms, the undergraduate student form and the form to report exposures.
Understanding COVID-19
Check out the hyperlinks for more information regarding each of these terms, and to read the full article published in Oct. 2020, visit The Current’s website.
- Virus: As defined by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Genome Research Institute, a virus is a “small collection of genetic code, either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a protein coat.” Viruses must use host cells in order to replicate themselves.
- Coronavirus: The following is the CDC’s definition for coronaviruses: “Coronaviruses, named for the crown-like spikes on their surfaces, are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats and bats.”
- COVID-19: COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease 2019.
- SARS-CoV-2: SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the particular coronavirus that causes COVID-19, not to be confused with SARS-CoV, the virus that caused the viral respiratory illness, SARS, outbreak in Feb. 2003. SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome.
- Epidemic/pandemic: According to the CDC, an epidemic is “an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population in that area,” while a pandemic is defined as an epidemic that has “spread over several countries or continents, usually affecting a large number of people.”
- Hotspot: Merriam-Webster defines a hotspot as, generally, “a place of more than usual interest, activity or popularity.” A hotspot is a word applied to many different topics — in the case of the pandemic, it is likely referring to a geographic area, such as a country or state, with a high number of cases or cases per resident. However, a study published by The National Center for Biotechnology Information, a branch of the NIH, stated that “the precise meaning of ‘hotspot’ varies widely in current research and policy documents.”
- Quarantine: Quarantine is separating someone who was exposed to a disease to monitor their symptoms in case they do get sick.
- Isolation: An individual who is sick with a contagious disease is told to isolate, or separate themselves from others who are not sick, to limit the risk of spreading the illness.
- Vaccine: A vaccine is “A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease,” according to the CDC.
Note: this article is up to date as of Spring 2021. For the latest information regarding how COVID-19 is being handled at NSU, be sure to monitor NSU emails and refer back to the website listed above.
