Dear Concordians,
It goes without saying that this has been a season of fluidity, due to COVID-19 and its variants. Guidance from public health professionals and local and state regulations continues to inform our decisions. As we closely monitor the new information about COVID variants, we want to emphasize how much we care about you and our community at large.
This email contains important information regarding updated mask guidelines on campus, and the return of the symptoms tracker. Please read this information carefully so that you are prepared for your arrival in the days ahead.
Vaccinations
COVID-19 vaccinations are still the safest and most effective way to prevent serious illness or death related to the virus and any variants. While Concordia is not mandating vaccinations, we highly encourage them. Please consider getting your vaccination.
If you are interested in receiving the Pfizer vaccine right here on CUW's campus, please complete the form: https://kydon.cuw.edu/ConcordiaUnivVaccineInterest/signupform.cfm
Updated mask guidelines
Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in our county and throughout the nation, and following current CDC guidelines, all employees, students, and guests, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear masks or face coverings in indoor settings beginning Monday, August 16.
The requirement will be reevaluated every week through the fall semester.
These guidelines are in place to care for one another and protect the health of our students and employees. By requiring everyone to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, we give our community more time to be fully vaccinated as we come together from all over the nation and internationally. Criteria for amending the masking guidelines include local transmission rates, local and state guidelines, rates of infection on campus, and vaccination rates of students and employees on campus.
Resident students will not be required to wear a mask within the student’s residence hall room. Presently, there are no plans for restrictions on the size of activities or group gatherings, including no physical distancing.
Daily symptoms tracker
Also beginning August 16, all Concordians, regardless of vaccination status, are expected to complete a daily symptoms tracker which screens for COVID-19 symptoms and potential exposure/risk to someone diagnosed with COVID-19. The daily symptom tracker is to be completed before you leave your residence hall room/home, by 9:00 a.m. each day.
The daily symptoms tracker is found on your Medicat Patient Portal. Please access your portal via the button below. This brings you to your welcome page on the patient portal.
Tracker details
The first time you enter your patient portal, please click on Forms. The first item asks you to opt in for text messaging. This enables us to send you a text message notification to complete the daily symptoms tracker with a quick link to your portal. We highly recommend that you opt in to enable text messaging and provide us with your current cell phone number.
Just below “Welcome to Our Patient Portal” you will see ***Please click here to complete your Daily Symptoms Tracking Form. Follow the directions. This will open your Daily Symptoms Tracker and you will need to answer the following questions:
- In the last two weeks, did you care for or have close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19? Yes or No
*For health professionals/health profession students: Please answer “no” if you have adhered to infection control precautions & procedures of the healthcare institution where you work/have clinicals, and have worn appropriate PPE as designated by that institution - Do you have any of the following symptoms? Yes or No
- Fever (>100F)/Chills
- New cough
- Shortness of breath/Difficulty breathing
- New sore throat
- Muscle aches/body aches (not due to exercise)
- New loss of taste and smell
- New onset diarrhea
- Nausea or vomiting of unknown origin
- New fatigue
- New headache
- Have you been fully vaccinated against COVID-19?
*CUWAA does not mandate the COVID vaccine. Disclosure is optional
This information will be used to determine quarantine need, plan vaccination efforts, and develop protocols based on community vaccination rate information. CUWAA does not mandate the COVID vaccine, and responding to this question is optional.
Upon answering, you will click on Submit.
Covid-19 daily status
After submitting the symptoms tracker, the screen changes to display your “COVID-19 status” for the day:
- Negative (green) means you are showing no symptoms of COVID-19 and have not been exposed to anyone diagnosed with COVID-19.
- Positive (red) means you have indicated possible COVID-19 symptoms.
- Documented/Risk of Exposure (orange) means you have indicated an exposure or possible exposure to someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days.
You will be able to show your daily “COVID-19 status” from a mobile device when entering campus, classrooms or any place on campus. Instructors will ask to see the green (or yellow; see below) dot when students enter a classroom or other teaching and learning space.
- Green or Yellow status is required for entry to any place/activity on campus. Yellow status may only be set by Student Health Center personnel and indicates that you have been exposed AND are fully vaccinated, therefore you do not need to quarantine.
- Red or Orange status means:
- CUW STUDENTS: Please stay at home or in your residence hall room and call the Student Health Center COVID line @ 262-243-2221 for further instructions.
- CUW EMPLOYEES: Please stay at home and contact your supervisor, HR, and your primary care provider for further instructions.
- EVERYONE: Follow CDC and health care guidelines for preventing disease transmission and managing COVID-19 symptoms.
If at any time you experience trouble breathing/signs of respiratory distress, persistent chest pain/pressure, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, bluish lips or face/hypoxia please call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Department.
We understand that this is an unusually challenging time for all of us. Again, it is our hope that these measures will assist us in keeping our campuses healthy and safe to the best of our ability.
Together, we each can do our own part.
God’s peace,
Steve Taylor
Vice President of Student Life