FAQs for Shenandoah University Employees – COVID-19
Updated April 21, 2021
For questions related to the COVID-19 vaccine, please see our Vaccination Frequently Asked Questions.
Below are frequently asked questions by Shenandoah University employees related to COVID-19. If you have a question that you would like to see added, please contact Lisa Darsch, director of employee wellness and healthcare navigation, at ldarsch@su.edu or Kim McDonald, associate director of human resources, at kmcdonal2@su.edu in Human Resources (HR).
Q. Why did Shenandoah develop the Shenandoah Go app, and how can I complete the daily symptom check if I don’t have a phone on which I can load the app?
A. Shenandoah developed the app to make it easier for faculty, staff and students to complete the daily symptom check and to provide an alternative — other than the SU website — for our community members to get the latest information on COVID-19 and the SU Pledge and to report a COVID-19 test result or exposure.
In addition, Shenandoah has developed a “pass system” on Shenandoah Go. If a person has a green pass on their app, that person is permitted to be on campus. If a person has a red pass, they should not be on campus. Employees (and visitors) should remain at home, and a Shenandoah HR employee will reach out to you.
If you don’t have a compatible phone, you should complete this form to request an ipad.
Q. Why do we still have to complete the daily symptom check on the Shenandoah Go app?
A. We initially began asking employees to complete the symptom check in July 2020 in accordance with CDC guidance for employers1. Then, Governor Ralph Northam made clear in his Higher Education Reopening Guidance that Virginia institutions of higher education should be asking daily health screening questions of its campus population. He has continued in the Phase 3 Guidelines to encourage Virginia employers to screen their employees prior to starting work each day.
The symptom check is simply a tool designed to help Shenandoah identify employees who might have COVID-19, to help them get medical assistance (if necessary) and to try to prevent those employees from coming onto campus where they might infect another employee, student or community member.
We now also use the daily symptom check to assist the university in complying with its obligation under the Final Permanent Standard as a Virginia employer to prevent employees known or suspected to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus from reporting to or remaining at work.
Q. What does the daily symptom check mean by symptoms that are “different than my normal state of health”?
A. The university is utilizing the symptom check as a screening tool to try to determine whether you may have COVID-19 and therefore need medical attention and/or pose a risk to other employees, students and community members if you come to work. There are, however, many symptoms associated with COVID-19 that may be “normal” for you. For example, runny nose, congestion, cough, and sore throat, to name a few. Only you will know when your symptoms are falling outside your normal range, and we ask you to use that judgment when answering the daily symptom check.
Therefore, you only need to indicate you have one or more symptoms on the daily symptom check if the symptom(s) are “different than your normal state of health.”
Q. How do I know if I’ve been “exposed” to a person with COVID-19 within the last 48 hours, such that I need to check that box on the symptom check?
A. The Virginia Department of Health provides guidance for when it is safe to be around others: You are not required to quarantine after exposure if you have been fully vaccinated (2 weeks have passed since the last dose of vaccine) and have no symptoms.
To be considered “exposed” to COVID-19, you need to have had “close contact” with someone known to have COVID-19. “Close contact” includes:
- Living with a person who has COVID-19
- Providing care for a person who has COVID-19
- Being within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 for 15 minutes or more, or
- Having exposure to respiratory secretions from a person with COVID-19 (e.g., being coughed or sneezed on, sharing a drinking glass or utensils, kissing)
A person with COVID-19 is considered to be contagious starting from 2 days before they became sick (or 2 days before they tested positive if they never had symptoms) until they meet the criteria to discontinue isolation.
Therefore, you only need to indicate on the symptom check that you have been “exposed” if you meet the above criteria.
Q. If I indicate on the daily symptom check that I have a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, and/or I indicate I have one or more symptoms listed that are different than my normal state of health, what do I need to do next?
A. First, STAY AT HOME. If you’re feeling ill, you are encouraged to speak with your medical provider. Lisa or an HR member will be in touch with you to discuss your situation further. Based on that discussion, HR may conclude that your symptom(s) are actually consistent with your normal state of health. If that’s the case, HR may permit you to report to work without further delay and will change your symptom check pass from red to green.
If, however, HR concludes, based on the information in the symptom check, that your symptom(s) indicate(s) you might have COVID-19, then you may NOT return to work unless and until:
- You provide HR with a written note from a qualified medical provider that states that you are permitted to return to work and includes the date you may return.
- You satisfy the “symptom-based strategy” for returning to work that is set forth in the ETS: (a) at least three days (72 hours) have passed since recovery, defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications, and improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) and (b) at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
We recognize this may be a tremendous inconvenience — to you, to Shenandoah and to others. That said, we value the health and safety of our employees, students and community members first and foremost, and we therefore must enforce this protocol. It is for this reason your symptom check pass will be turned to blue, prohibiting you from campus until the criteria is met as noted above.
Q. If I indicate on the daily symptom check that I have been “exposed” to a person with COVID-19 within the past 48 hours, what do I need to do next?
A. First, STAY AT HOME. Lisa Darsch or an HR representative will be in touch with you to discuss your situation further. Based on that discussion, HR may conclude that you weren’t actually “exposed.” If that’s the case, HR may permit you to report to work without further delay.
If, however, HR concludes, based on the information in the symptom check, that you have been exposed, then you may NOT return to work, and you must self-quarantine and monitor your health for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days after your last contact.
If you develop symptoms during this 14-day period, please contact Lisa Darsch or HR to discuss your situation further. Our healthcare navigator can help direct you to a provider or a testing center should the need arise. Since you now have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, your clock for off-campus time will need to be restarted, and depending on your results, may change further. As a general rule, you will be required to follow the symptom-based strategy outlined above, or see a provider for a return-to-work note.
If you do not develop symptoms during this 14-day period, then you are free to return to work immediately thereafter.
We recognize this may be a tremendous inconvenience — to you, to Shenandoah and to others. That said, we value the health and safety of our employees, students and community members first and foremost, and we therefore must enforce this protocol.
Do I need to quarantine if I’m fully vaccinated against COVID-19?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is allowing individuals fully immunized with a COVID-19 vaccine to be exempt from quarantine after an exposure to COVID-19 if they meet the following criteria:
- Are fully vaccinated (i.e. they have received two doses of an mRNA vaccine or one dose of a single-dose series) and the exposure occurred at least two weeks after the last dose of the series
- The exposure is within three months of the last dose of the vaccine series
- The individual remains asymptomatic for all 14 days post exposure
The CDC information can be found at cdc.gov.
What does this mean for Shenandoah University?
We are not requiring students, staff or faculty who have been exposed to quarantine if they meet the above requirements.
Q. What do you do with the information employees provide in the daily symptom check, and how long is it retained?
A. The information submitted by employees (or visitors) is reviewed by Lisa Darsch, or another designated member of Shenandoah’s HR Department. The sole purpose of their evaluation of the information is to determine whether you may have COVID-19, in which case your presence on campus might pose a risk to other employees, students and/or community members.
If you have indicated on the symptom check that you have a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher and/or you have one or more of the symptoms listed, which are different than your normal state of health, and/or that you have been exposed within the past 14 days to a person who has COVID-19, then HR will maintain that record in a confidential file separate from your employee personnel file for one year. If you have indicated on the symptom check that you do not have a fever or symptoms and you have not been exposed as described above, then SU will retain these files for a short period of time and then delete them in batches approximately every 30 days.
Q. How do I self-report a COVID-19 exposure?
A. To self-report a COVID-19 exposure, use the Shenandoah Go app or this confidential employee link. Lisa Darsch or another HR representative will be in touch with you to discuss your situation further. Based on that discussion, HR may conclude that you weren’t actually “exposed,” and you therefore, need not have self-reported a COVID-19 exposure. If that’s the case, HR may permit you to report to work without further delay.
If, however, HR concludes that you have been exposed, you are not permitted to be on campus and you must self-quarantine and monitor your health for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days after your last contact.
If you develop symptoms during this 14-day period, please contact HR to discuss your situation further. Our healthcare navigator can help direct you to a provider or a testing center should the need arise. Since you now have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, your clock for off-campus time will need to be restarted, and depending on your results, may change further. As a general rule, you will be required to follow the symptom-based strategy outlined above or see a provider for a return-to-work note.
If you do not develop symptoms during this 14-day period, then you are free to return to work immediately thereafter.
We recognize this may be a tremendous inconvenience — to you, to Shenandoah and to others. That said, we value the health and safety of our employees, students and community members first and foremost, and we therefore must enforce this protocol.
Q. How do I self-report a COVID-19 diagnostic test result?
A. To self-report a COVID-19 diagnostic test result, use the Shenandoah Go app or this confidential employee link. Lisa Darsch or another HR representative will be in touch with you to discuss your situation further.
If your diagnostic test result was positive, HR will ask you additional questions to determine: (i) if there is anyone you may have exposed at the university who we need to notify pursuant to the ETS; and (ii) when you will be able to return to work. (In the event we are required to notify one or more employees that you may have exposed them to COVID-19, we will notify them that they may have been exposed, but we will not provide your name or confirm your identity.)
If you had symptoms, you will still need to satisfy the symptom-based strategy in the ETS discussed above before you may return to work. If you did not have symptoms, then you may return to work 10 days after the date of your first positive diagnostic test result, assuming you did not develop symptoms after your positive test. If you did develop symptoms, then you will need to satisfy the symptom-based strategy.
If your diagnostic test was negative, HR will ask you additional questions to determine:
- why you were tested
- when you will be able to return to work.
If you had symptoms, despite your negative test result, you will still need, according to the ETS, to satisfy the symptom-based strategy discussed above before returning to work, unless you obtain a note from your primary care physician, or another qualified medical provider, expressly authorizing you to return to work sooner.
If you did not have symptoms, HR will determine when you may return to work based primarily on the reason you tested.