COVID-19 Update: June 5, 2020

Office of the President

The news we shared with you yesterday serves as a reminder that the threat of COVID-19 remains in our region. Accordingly, we would like to take this opportunity to share some information with you that we believe will help all of us at JSU navigate the months ahead.

First, JSU policy mandates the use of face coverings or masks when you are in common areas on campus. As you walk about the campus, pass through hallways, go to the restroom, or go to any place where you encounter other people, you are required to wear a face covering or mask. Please contact your supervisor if you need a mask.

Second, if you are feeling ill or if you have been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or believed to be infected, do not come to work. If you are ill with COVID-19 symptoms, you should contact your healthcare provider for consultation. If you have been tested for COVID-19 and are pending test results, stay home while those results are pending. If you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you have an obligation to self-quarantine for a period of 10 days from the last day you were in contact with that person. To cover your absence from work, JSU has initiated a COVID-19-specific leave policy.

Third, if you are suspected of having COVID-19 or have been diagnosed with COVID-19, we ask that you provide us with some key information that will help us determine who may have been exposed. You can provide that information to the COVID-19 Task Force by completing the Self-Reporting form found as a red button near the top of our COVID-19 webpage. Several of us on the Task Force have been charged with performing contact tracing for the university. The information you provide us will remain confidential but will greatly assist us with this essential task aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

When contract tracing occurs, detailed information is reviewed by the COVID-19 Task Force. After this review, the COVID-19 Task Force will provide information to employees who may have been exposed to anyone testing positive. Additionally, if anyone testing positive visited common areas such as the cafeteria, library, recreation center, etc., a general announcement will be disseminated to the campus community. As a reminder, names of anyone testing positive cannot be provided to the campus community. Names are legally protected by healthcare laws.

Finally, let us be accountable to ourselves and others by wearing our masks and following these personal protective measures.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jeff Ryan
Dr. Oye Akisanya
COVID-19 Task Force