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General Health and Safety FAQs

FHSU is following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (KDHE), and the Ellis County Health Department (ECHD) to implement policies and practices to confront the uncertainties around operating  a university during a pandemic.  The latest details of FHSU’s reopening plans and other information can be found on the university’s COVID Response website. 

 

Am I at risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 on campus?

Yes.  Exposure to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is an ongoing risk for everyone, everywhere for the foreseeable future. We all share responsibility for controlling the spread of COVID-19. This means:

  • Stay home if you are ill
  • Wear a mask
  • Wash your hands routinely
  • Keep 6-foot distance between yourself and others whenever possible 

 

What are the university’s procedures for dealing with infections on campus?

The university has focused on educating the campus community about the disease and creating policies and protocols to help mitigate the spread of infection on campus.  These policies and protocols, in place throughout campus operations, involve measures like requiring health screening, wearing masks, washing hands, and social distancing, restricting access to and traffic through campus buildings, imposing limitations on room occupancies and taking other de-densifying measures, isolation and quarantine preparations, surveillance and symptomatic testing, expanded procedures for sanitizing public areas, and other measures. 

 

What should I do if I am not feeling well?

Anyone who does not feel well should stay home and stay away from others.  You can call your primary care provider or the Student Health Center during normal office hours at (785) 628-4293 to discuss your symptoms with a nurse and get recommendations.  You may also contact the HaysMed/University of Kansas Health System’s COVID Hotline at 913-588-1600 seven days a week between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

 

How concerned should I be if I become infected with the coronavirus?

That’s hard to predict since everyone is unique.   The majority of cases are mild to moderate, which may mean little more than a fever and cough.  Patients convalesce at home and return to their daily lives after the illness runs its course, generally taking about 10 days.  On the other hand, some cases are severe and require hospitalization.  The most likely predictor of a severe or critical illness is advanced age with underlying chronic illnesses. 

 

What if I’m a student and I have to miss class because I am ill?

Call the Student Affairs office at (785) 628-4277 as soon as you realize you will miss class due to illness.  The office will send a notice to your instructors that only indicates you will not be in class.  You are responsible for following up with your instructors to discuss how to complete any missed assignments or tests. 

 

Can I be tested for COVID-19 on campus?

The Student Health Center can collect specimens from patients with symptoms of COVID-19.  The specimens are sent to an outside laboratory for testing.  When a test is performed you will be required to be either isolated or quarantined until the results are final. Contact the Student Health Center for additional details relating to the university’s testing procedures and options.

 

What will the test cost?

If you are ill, and if the provider orders a test to diagnose COVID-19, there will not be at cost to students for the test.   However, there will be a charge for the office visit and testing for other infections such as strep or influenza. Contact the Student Health Center for additional details relating to the university’s testing procedures and options.

 

Where else can I get tested in the Hays area?

Check with local providers and the ECHD. HaysMed and affiliated locations, and the Student Health Center, can collect specimens for testing when ordered by a provider.  Affordalab in Hays will do testing without a provider’s order.  Call your healthcare provider for instructions to get tested or contact Affordalab to arrange for testing without an order.  

  

What should I do if I test positive or think I have COVID-19?

Contact your health care provider for medical advice and follow any isolation requirements or guidelines issued by the local health department, KDHE, or CDC.  Monitor your symptoms and isolate for the 10 days after your symptoms first appeared, or for at least 72 hours after your symptoms disappear, without using fever-reducing medication like Tylenol, whichever time frame is longer.  If you are an employee, contact your supervisor to advise of your absence or ability to work remotely, and contact Human Resources to understand your leave options. If you are a student, contact Student Affairs so they can send a notice to your instructors that indicates you will not be in class.   

 

I was exposed to a person who tested positive.  Should I be tested?

People who have had close contact with an individual infected with the coronavirus may be tested but there is currently no requirement to be tested.  The CDC recommends recommends a person stay home, maintain social distancing, and self-monitor until 14 days from the last date of exposure, or until released earlier by a health professional in accordance with any shortened quarantine guidelines that may apply. In any event, monitor yourself for symptoms for 14 days.  

 

I’m not feeling well, should I be tested? 

Contact a health care provider or the Student Health Center for medical advice.  You may be tested to confirm or exclude the possibility of an infection, but you are not likely to be required to be tested.  In any case, if you are feeling unwell, you should self-quarantine.  This means stay home, wear a mask and maintain social distancing, and monitor your temperature and other symptoms. 

In accordance with public health guidelines, if you suspect you have a COVID-19 infection, you must isolate for the 10 days after your symptoms first appeared, or for at least 72 hours after your symptoms disappear, without using a fever-reducing medication like Tylenol, whichever time frame is longer.

You may call the HaysMed COVID Hotline at (913) 588-1600, seven days a week between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to discuss your options, and you may call the Student Health Center at 785-628-4293 during normal business hours. 

 

What does it mean to isolate or be quarantined?

Isolate means to separate people who are ill from people who are healthy. Quarantine, on the other hand, is the term used when a well person is separated and restricted from others because of an exposure to a contagious disease. Both practices are used to stop or limit the spread of disease.  Generally, individuals must isolate for 10 days when they test positive, or be quarantined for a period of up to 14 days when they are exposed to a person infected with COVID-19.  The CDC provides more detailed information on how to isolate or be quarantined.

The local guidelines for quarantine – not isolation – have changed since the start of the fall semester. While the CDC and KDHE still endorse or recommend a 14 day quarantine period in general, if you are in Ellis County and have been identified as a close contact to a positive case, and remain asymptomatic, your quarantine will last 10 days from the date of contact according to updated CDC guidelines adopted by the Ellis County Health Department on 12/07/2020. 

  • Your quarantine period may end after 7 days if you have no symptoms and test negative at least 5 days after the close contact exposure. Students may contact the Student Health Center to request a test kit during a quarantine. 
  • If you choose not to test then you must complete the full 10 day quarantine period.
  • If you develop COVID-like symptoms during quarantine, you should test and follow instructions provided by your healthcare provider.   
  • In all cases, public health guidelines recommend individuals monitor themselves for COVID-like symptoms for a full 14 days after a close contact even if released from a quarantine after seven or ten days.    

Refer to CDC, KDHE, and ECHD for additional information and guidance regarding recent changes to CDC guidelines and options for quarantine. Individuals instructed to isolate or quarantine by public health officials should follow the instructions given to them by such officials, as well as the general guidance provided by the CDC.

 

Where will students living in residence halls isolate or be quarantined?

If you live in campus housing you may return to your permanent residence to isolate or quarantine.  You may also be isolated or quarantined in living spaces so designated by the university.  The spaces may be on campus or in local leased spaces, depending upon availability. 

 

Where do I isolate or quarantine if I do not live on campus?

Employees will be expected to isolate or quarantine at their personal residences, and students residing off campus will be provided information to complete their isolation or quarantine at their personal residence.  Students isolated or quarantined off campus will be monitored by county health personnel.

 

Will the university notify us when there is a positive case on campus?

Not necessarily. The university intends to continue to report general testing information provided by the Student Health Center on the COVID dashboard. If a case is diagnosed off campus, however, the university is not likely to know of the infection unless the patient or ECHD reports it to the university. Every positive COVID-19 test case diagnosed locally is reported to the KDHE, and ultimately to the ECHD. The ECHD is responsible for contacting individuals who test positive, giving them instructions for isolating and collecting information on their close contacts, and then conducting contact tracing pursuant to its legal authority.

 

Will the university alert me if I have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?

Not necessarily.  Positive test results from any laboratory are reported to KDHE which then informs the local health departments, which in Ellis County is the ECHD.  The local health department is responsible for contacting those who have had close contact with an infected individual.  The Student Health Center may assist the local health department in this effort if requested to do so. Close contact is defined by the local health department as spending 10 minutes within 6 feet of the infected individual in the two days prior to symptom onset.  The university may make a general announcement or notification if a case or outbreak has been diagnosed within the campus community, however, personal health information will be protected and remain confidential as required by law.

 

A person in my class ( or on my floor) was diagnosed with COVID-19.  What should I do?

The local health department is responsible for contacting those who have had close contact with an infected individual.  Close contact is defined by the local health department as spending 10 minutes within 6 feet of the infected individual in the two days prior to symptom onset.  Note that it is possible that a faculty member could be contacted for information regarding the classroom set up and other protocols. If you have not been contacted by ECHD, or possibly the Student Health Center in a supportive role for ECHD, then you were not identified as a close contact.  If you believe you were exposed, you should self-quarantine and monitor yourself for symptoms for 14 days.  Contact the Student Health Center during normal office hours at (785) 628-4293 to speak with a nurse if you believe you should self-quarantine, or you may call the HaysMed COVID Hotline at (913) 588-1600, seven days a week between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to ask questions about such a quarantine.

 

What if I know someone who has tested positive and had contact with others on campus?

Contact tracing is the responsibility of ECHD unless it has authorized others to do it.  The authority to do contact tracing, or to delegate the authority, has been legislatively placed within the local health agency.  In Ellis County that is the ECHD.  Because of this, and because of privacy laws, individuals who test positive should assume some responsibility to inform their close contacts.  

 

What should I do if, as a supervisor, one of my employees reports a positive COVID test?

The employee can be instructed to contact the Student Health Center, which has been designated as the main point of contact for purposes of responding to specific COVID-19 case concerns or reports on campus.  The employee should also contact Human Resources for instructions on recording the leave in Workday.   You may recommend the employee inform others who they may have exposed so they can respond accordingly.  The authority to do contact tracing, or to delegate the authority, has been legislatively placed within the local health agency.  In Ellis County that is the ECHD.  Supervisors should make efforts to safeguard the personal health information of individuals who report a COVID-19 illness.  The minimum necessary information should only be shared with others who have a need to know.  Supervisors may also want to contact the Student Health Center and Human Resources for guidance and suggestions relative to their area of responsibility.

 

If a student, professor, staff member or visitor tests positive for COVID-19, what will you do to contain the spread?

Positive cases among our campus community during the course of the pandemic are expected to continue, and we all must continue to do our part to mitigate the spread and assess our individual tolerance for risk. In addition to maintaining the university’s various health and safety policies and protocols referenced above, when an infection is reported to the university as involving a person who has been on campus property, an assessment of the likely risk is made based on the information provided. This information could relate to the room or location that was occupied, the timing of such occupation, or other factors.  If warranted, the university may close all or part of a building for disinfection, notifying the occupants of that building in advance as appropriate. As in other instances when a test result is positive, ECHD will begin contact tracing to identify close contacts of the infected individual.

 

Who do I speak with about my health problem that puts me at higher risk for complications from COVID-19? 

It is important for the university to know when a student or employee has health issues that put them at increased risk.  You may be at increased risk if you have asthma, hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung disease, weakened immunity, or other conditions. The Kelly Center’s Student Accessibility Services can help students navigate their options and receive accommodations to mitigate their personal risk of becoming infected.  Contact the Kelly Center’s Coordinator of Accessibility services at (785) 628-4401 for a confidential discussion of your circumstances. For employees, contact the Human Resources department at (785) 628-4462 to discuss your situation.