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COVID-19 Resources

Faculty and Staff

The best working and learning environment is one where faculty, staff and students feel supported in both their physical and mental well-being. Below you'll find information about our approach to a safe work environment, monitoring your health, and expert advice and information to stay healthy.

Key Personal Health Guidelines

It is critical that we all practice the following safety measures — even if you are feeling well — as many individuals who have COVID-19 can remain asymptomatic. In following these measures, you are helping to protect yourself, your family, your neighbors, your colleagues, our students and the entire Bobcat community.

QU Symptom Checker App

All faculty, staff and students are required to check for symptoms of COVID-19 using the QU Symptom Checker mobile app each day before they report to work. This gives the university an important early detection system to help identify possible COVID-19 cases. The app evaluates the responses based on CDC and medical guidelines and provides an immediate confirmation on whether the individual is cleared to attend in-person campus activities or if they need to take further actions to evaluate their health.

Individuals should update their symptoms if they change during the day, and everyone is also asked to monitor for fever daily. A temperature of 100.4℉ or higher is considered a fever.

The app has been updated so that after signing in the first time, you’re in for the rest of the semester. Users’ personal information is not shared, and only representatives of Student Health Services and Quinnipiac Human Resources will monitor the symptom-tracking dashboard and will direct ill students, faculty and staff on immediate next steps. The app only monitors self-reported symptoms; it does not capture any other information from users.

symptom-tracker-qr-android.jpg

Download for Android

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Download for Apple
About the App:
  • Users’ personal information is not shared and only representatives of Student Health Services and Quinnipiac Human Resources will monitor the symptom tracking dashboard and will direct ill students, faculty and staff on immediate next steps to take.
  • The app only monitors self-reported symptoms; it does not capture any other information from users.
  • The symptom checker app evaluates the responses based on CDC and medical guidelines and provides an immediate confirmation on whether the individual is cleared to attend in-person campus activities or if they need to take further actions to evaluate their health.
  • Reporting one or more symptoms does not necessarily mean an individual needs to be tested or has COVID-19. If possible symptoms are reported, specific instructions and next steps will be provided through the app. The information from the app will help the health center identify trends and potential outbreaks before they happen.
Monitor your health app

Monitor Your Health

Symptoms to Look For

COVID-19 symptoms currently include one or more of the following:

fever.pngFever

cough.pngCough

shortness-of-breath.pngShortness of breath

sore-throat.pngSore throat
  • Loss of taste
  • Loss of smell
  • Red/watery eyes
  • Headache
  • Body aches
  • Severe fatigue
  • Vomiting/diarrhea
  • Chills

Read the CDC guide on coronavirus symptoms

 

Monitoring Your Own Health Daily

All students, faculty and staff are required to check for symptoms of COVID-19 daily using the QU Symptom Tracker mobile app described above. The app evaluates the responses based on CDC and medical guidelines and provides an immediate confirmation on whether the individual is cleared to attend in-person campus activities or if they need to take further actions to evaluate their health. In addition to checking for symptoms related to COVID-19, we ask that you take your temperature at home each day before you report to work.

  • If your temperature is 100.4℉ or higher, you need to stay home, contact your physician and notify your supervisor.
  • We may ask you to submit to temperature testing on campus as part of our health protocols and policies.
  • If you test positive for COVID-19, you must notify the Office of Human Resources by sending an email to EmployeeCOVIDHR@qu.edu and must isolate at home until you recover. We will respect your privacy to the extent possible, given contact-tracing requirements per state and CDC guidelines. Please review the CDC guidelines on self-isolation
  • Contact your supervisor and the Office of Human Resources if you feel you may have been exposed to someone who has the virus in a non-socially distant setting.

Download the Symptom Checker app for Apple

Download the Symptom Checker app for Android

Return to Campus COVID-19 Testing for All Quinnipiac Employees

As we prepare to welcome our students back to campus for the spring semester, we will again require that all students are tested for COVID-19 pre-arrival, and then again once they arrive on campus. We found that this pre-arrival testing program was a critical factor in enabling us to start the fall semester COVID-free.

That experience, coupled with the higher rate of community transmission statewide and throughout the northeast, has led us to require that all Quinnipiac employees be tested for COVID-19 before returning for the beginning of the semester. This places the same return-to-campus expectations on us as we’re asking of our students and will maximize the odds of a healthy start to the semester, while also protecting the health of one another. Following is some important information about getting tested.

How can employees get a COVID-19 test?

Quinnipiac has partnered with Griffin Hospital as a preferred COVID-19 testing location for our employees. Employees can call to schedule an appointment that doesn’t conflict with their work schedule, making it quick and convenient to get tested with minimal wait. It is a drive-through testing location in Derby and you do not need to get out of your vehicle. Testing is open 7-days a week and the hours range from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., depending on the day. Results are usually available within 48 hours or less.

Please call (203) 437-6815, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to schedule your appointment. It’s best to leave a message and request a call-back. Be sure to state in the message that you are a Quinnipiac employee when you call. Access to this preferred testing program at Griffin is available all semester to our employees.

Please review our list of additional testing options below if you prefer to use another option beside Griffin.

View all testing FAQs

Additional Testing Resources for Faculty and Staff

Following are some additional resources to help make it easy for you to find a COVID-19 testing location or provider:

Anthem

Anthem has waived copays and cost shares for COVID-19 testing for employees and dependents covered under Quinnipiac’s medical plans. Employees can use Anthem’s COVID-19 testing locator to locate participating providers in their area. 

Yale New Haven Health

Please visit the YNHHS website to find testing locations.

CIC Health

Free, no insurance needed
A new COVID-testing site is open at the former Gateway Community College site at 60 Sargent Drive in New Haven. Run by CIC Health, the drive-up site allows people to self-administer a nasal swab. The PCR test is paid for by the state and does not require insurance. It is open 8 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Monday to Friday and noon to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. Complete the pre-screening questions and register for a test online

Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI)

Free, no insurance needed
CHCI is making COVID-19 testing available for FREE at multiple drive-up or walk-up locations throughout Connecticut. You do not need to have any symptoms to be tested and an order from a health care practitioner is not required. You will not be asked for insurance information. A CHCI clinician will perform a deep nasal swab test and results will be available in 2-3 business days. No appointment is necessary. Visit CHCI’s website for further information and testing locations or call their COVID Testing Hotline at 475-241- 0740.

Student Testing Procedures

All students — undergraduate and graduate — are required to be tested for COVID-19 before returning for the spring semester. This pre-arrival test was a condition of being able to engage in any in-person instruction or other campus activities. Faculty and staff are not required to be tested before returning to campus.

Similar to the fall, Quinnipiac will conduct return testing and on-going testing of a percentage of students throughout the semester. This sampling strategy is based upon scientific guidelines and will aid in the early detection of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic infections. QU will also have the ability to conduct rapid testing within Student Health Services for symptomatic individuals or those feeling ill. These test results are generated in about one hour.

Wear a Face Covering in Public Spaces

Quinnipiac is requiring all students, faculty and staff to wear face coverings whenever they are in a public space. Wearing a face covering does not replace the need to maintain physical distancing and to observe safety protocols. Any time you are outside your living unit, personal office or workspace, you must wear a face covering. This rule applies to all individuals on all campuses as well as students living off campus. Those who live off campus should still be wearing a face covering whenever they are outside their living unit and around others.

Masks and face coverings reduce community transmission of the virus by providing a physical barrier that can help to contain the spread of respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. Recent research shows that the risk of acquiring COVID-19 is substantially reduced to less than 5% when everyone in a room is wearing a face covering.

If a student arrives to class without a face covering on or is not practicing appropriate physical distancing, the faculty member will ask the student to put on a face covering and/or create additional physical distance. If a student receives a second warning, or if the student is behaving in an inconsiderate manner regarding these face covering and physical distancing rules, faculty and staff have been instructed to report offenders, who will be subject to a conduct review. Possible repercussions may include disciplinary probation up to suspension.

Purchase an additional face mask from the Quinnipiac Bookstore

Wear a face covering

Face Coverings Required

Our Facilities team reviewed all workspaces across our campuses to determine where physical adjustments were necessary, such as the installation of plastic shields, spacing out workspaces, assessing one-way traffic patterns. These adjustments were made in advance of each department’s return to work according to the three phases. If you have questions about your workspace needs, please contact your manager.

Practice Social Distancing in Public Spaces

Everyone must maintain at least a 6-foot distance when around others.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that people remain a minimum of six feet apart. Here are some other steps you can take:

  • Limit non-essential interaction across campuses, buildings and work sites.
  • Increase physical space between your co-workers, students, visitors and vendors.
  • Limit gatherings in your workplace (e.g., no face-to-face meetings, one person at a time in kitchen areas, etc.).
  • Use Zoom or alternative meeting tools for person-to-person meetings.
  • Avoid physical contact, such as handshakes or fist bumps.
  • Signage is present throughout our campuses with reminders about social distancing, especially in public spaces. Please respect these guidelines.
  • Elevators and stairways - The number of individuals allowed in elevators will be dictated by the social distancing rule. If six feet apart is not practical, then one person should ride at a time. Please do not touch elevator buttons directly. Please use an object (pen) or piece of clothing to press the buttons. When using stairwells, please maintain proper distancing. Where possible, Facilities may dedicate separate stairwells as “up” and “down” stairs.
Navigating Quinnipiac

Navigating Quinnipiac

Meetings

Face-to-face meetings should be limited as much as possible. While we all are accustomed to in-person meetings, it is vital that other means of communication, such as the phone and Zoom, are used during this time.

Travel

Employees who plan out-of-state travel should be aware of Connecticut’s list of affected states and the requirement to quarantine for up to 14 days upon their return. Most important, employees need to be aware of the expectations and impact should they choose to travel to an affected state. Employees will be required to comply with Connecticut regulations if the state they traveled to is deemed an affected state while they are there and before their return to Connecticut. 

Quinnipiac University strongly discourages employees from any non-essential out-of-state travel to affected states. While we recognize that some instances of travel to affected states cannot be avoided, please be aware of the following travel requirements. 

  • Employees are required to fill out a notify their manager and HR if they are planning to or have traveled to one of the identified affected states. 
  • If employees can perform the functions of their job from home, they will be permitted to telecommute for the recommended period of quarantine following return from an affected state. 
  • Employees who travel to an affected state and who are unable to telecommute and are mandated by Executive Order 7III to quarantine for a period of time (beyond the period of their pre-approved leave) will be required to use any available vacation time to cover the period of their quarantine. If an employee does not have sufficient vacation time to cover the period of quarantine, the employee will be placed on unpaid leave for the balance of the quarantine period. If an employee has no available vacation time to cover the period of quarantine, the employee will be placed on unpaid leave for the required period of quarantine. 
  • Employees traveling from one of the affected states that was not listed as an affected state at the time the employee began their travel must notify their manager via email or telephone upon their return to Connecticut. Employees must understand the risk of a state turning into an affected state after their arrival and having to self-quarantine when they return to Connecticut. Quinnipiac University will require employees to self-quarantine, as noted above, for 14 days, use their vacation or request an unpaid leave. 
  • Please note that, at this time, the state’s mandatory quarantine does not apply if an individual has spent less than 24 hours in one or more affected state prior to arriving in Connecticut. 
  • Upon return to Connecticut, employees must provide appropriate documentation (e.g., boarding passes, car rental receipts, hotel invoices, etc.) to support the need for leave upon return from travel. The failure to report travel from an affected state could result in disciplinary action and a civil penalty for failure to comply with the Executive Order 7III requirements. 

Read the 2020-2021 university-sponsored travel policy

Practice Good Personal Hygiene, Hand Washing and Follow Cleanliness Protocols

Refrain from touching your face and wash your hands frequently, especially after coming in contact with any public areas, such as restrooms. You should wash your hands for a full 20 seconds to kill germs.

  • Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Facilities will strive to ensure hand washing and/or hand sanitizer supplies are stocked and readily available.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Stay home if you feel sick. That includes staying home from work, school, errands and travel.
  • If not wearing a face covering, cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
  • If not wearing a face covering and you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands.
  • Use touchless foot pedals and water fountains where available.
What you need to know about handwashing

CDC Hand Washing Guidelines

Cleaning and Disinfection

Our Facilities team will be engaging in more frequent and robust cleaning protocols. In addition, we ask you to augment those efforts by routinely cleaning and disinfecting your personal and work spaces, and wiping keyboards, phones and doorknobs, if applicable, at least once a day. We also have processes in place to perform enhanced, deep cleanings when necessary.

All managers in our Facilities Department completed rigorous training and received certification from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, the nation’s leading trade association specializing in cleaning, disinfection and restoration of facilities.

Cleaning and disinfection

Keeping Quinnipiac Clean

Our university dining halls and cafeterias will be closed until students return. You are welcome to eat in your designated workstations or break rooms while being mindful of social distancing guidelines (staggered lunch breaks may be needed).

We ask that you not prepare food on site or share meals with co-workers. Microwaves and coffee machines may be used; however, employees are required to properly clean them after each use. Employees ordering food for delivery must arrange for a contact-free delivery.

Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is an important step in staying ahead of the spread of COVID-19. Time is of the essence for an effective contact tracing program because the primary focus is on finding those individuals who have been in contact with a positive or presumed positive (symptomatic but not yet tested positive) case of COVID-19. In addition to partnering with the Quinnipiack Valley Health District, Quinnipiac has assembled and trained its own team of on-campus contact tracers to ensure a rapid response to contact tracing needs. Our team includes faculty, staff and student volunteers, including individuals from our Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. These volunteers completed training from both the state of Connecticut and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and will be supported by a team of dedicated registered nurses through a partner organization, UST Global, which is augmenting our contact tracing services for the spring semester. Contact tracing is only effective with your support and participation if you’re contacted.

  1. How do we determine if you are a contact who may be at risk?
    To be considered a contact by the Quinnipiack Valley Health District and the CDC, a person needs to have been within 6 feet of the positive or presumed positive case for more than 15 minutes. Our contact tracing team then performs additional evaluation to confirm a true exposure, which is why it is important to practice the physical distancing and mask-wearing protocols we have established, and our classrooms and facilities have all been modified to space people apart from each other.

  2. Is contact tracing only used after a person tests positive for COVID-19?
    Quinnipiac is being extra cautious and will deploy contact tracing both when an individual is confirmed positive and if an individual has reported symptoms but their test result is not yet available. This includes symptoms reported through the QU symptom checking app. As a result, a call from a contact tracer does not necessarily mean you have been exposed to a positive COVID-19 case. Given the abundance of caution we’re exercising, there will be situations in which a student ultimately is found to have a common cold or other illness, but we will ask those individuals and their contacts to quarantine until we have a confirmed negative COVID-19 test.

  3. What happens if I’m confirmed as a contact of a possible COVID-19 case?
    Residential students will be asked to move into the university’s designated quarantine housing and non-residential students will be asked to quarantine in their off-campus housing. Students also have the option to quarantine at home, if feasible. Student Health Services will assist with the transition into quarantine and provide more detailed information on the quarantine process and necessary health protocols. Students will be released from quarantine as soon as a confirmed negative test result is received from the presumed case. If a positive case is confirmed, contacts will be required to remain in quarantine for 14 days.

  4. Will professors be notified when students move into quarantine or isolation?
    Professors will not be notified. Following FERPA, best practices and advice from the local health department and CDC, we must limit personally identifying information about positive cases and contacts to protect individuals’ privacy and avoid potential stigma. Students should notify their professors that they will be attending class remotely if the class requires in-person attendance, but it is at their discretion whether they want to mention that they’ve been moved into quarantine housing. We have staff dedicated to assisting our students in quarantine and isolation, and those students will check in daily and be monitored for any changes in their health.

    If a student is too ill to participate in classes, Student Health Services will provide its standard notification excusing the student from classes for medical reasons. We are working with dean’s offices on notification processes for students in a clinical placement or lab course who need to quarantine, as well as documentation that will be used to confirm those students are cleared with a negative test to return to their clinical assignment.

  5. If a contact was in a classroom, does a professor need to request the room be cleaned?
    No, our facilities department is already integrated into our contact tracing processes and will be notified if a classroom needs to be disinfected. In addition, as part of our standard cleaning protocols this semester, classrooms are disinfected every weekday morning before the start of classes, and students and faculty are expected to spray and wipe down desks and surfaces at the end of each class using the disinfectant product provided in every classroom.

If you have more questions about contact tracing, please contact the leaders of Quinnipiac’s contact tracing team, Jason Burke (jason.burke@qu.edu) and Wendy Sewack (wendy.sewack@qu.edu).

You may also review the CDC’s extensive resources and information about contact tracing and how it helps slow the spread of the virus.

Explore these videos outlining important information to help keep you safe and healthy.

COVID-19 In perspective update with David Hill, MD

COVID-19: In perspective update with David Hill, MD — David R. Hill, MD, professor of medical sciences, discusses: the status of the pandemic; the spectrum of illnesses and risk factors; approaches to therapy and prevention; requirements for re-opening; and considers the course of the pandemic over time.

What you need to know about handwashing

What You Need to Know About Hand Washing — This video from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention answers important questions about hand washing and hand sanitizer.

What older adults need to know about COVID-19

What Older Adults Need to Know About COVID-19 — Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC, describes preventive measures to help protect older adults from the coronavirus.

Respecting the Community

Reports on the spread of COVID-19 infections are a source of stress and concern for many, but it is critical that we pause and reflect on how our words and reactions can affect others during this global health crisis. Now more than ever, it’s important for all members of the Quinnipiac community to treat one another with care and dignity.

Please consider the following:

  • Resist the tendency to make broad generalizations about people. Uncertainty about the coronavirus may lead to anxiety and fear. Harmful behaviors can occur when anxiety and fear are projected onto entire social groups. Such behavior is harmful to the well-being of targeted individuals and does not protect anyone from the coronavirus.
  • Treat community members with care and empathy. Try to walk in the shoes of others rather than treating someone with suspicion or implicit bias.
  • Be vigilant outside of work about social distancing and proper hygiene at locations you visit during non-work hours.
  • Continue to follow recommended health and safety guidelines as Connecticut re-opens for business.
Ending the stigma

Ending the Stigma

Active Bystander Online Training Course

The training outlines community standards we must all observe and reinforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers bystander intervention, and what steps you can take to be supportive, active bystanders and to empower your fellow students, faculty and staff to do the same.

Watch the training video

University-Sponsored Travel Policy 2020–21

Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on worldwide travel and global health risks, Quinnipiac is pausing student, faculty and staff participation in international and domestic university-sponsored travel for Fall 2020, Winter 2021 and Spring 2021. This includes travel for semester- and short-term study abroad, faculty-led trips, conferences, research, and domestic study away programs directly operated by Quinnipiac, partner institutions and third-party providers. If travel resumes for these terms, approval for travel will need to be evaluated by the Management Committee and COVID-19 Taskforce.

This decision is based primarily on the health and safety concerns associated with global travel and ongoing revisions to entry requirements, visa processes and travel advisories.

COVID-19 Return to Campus Online Training Course

All students, faculty and staff were required to complete Quinnipiac's COVID-19 Return to Campus online training course. It contained important information about the many health and safety protocols we have put in place throughout our campuses to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Access the course on MyQ

COVID-19 Assumption of Risk

Students:

The university has taken steps to implement substantial precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. By entering onto the Quinnipiac University campus, the student agrees to abide by all university’s policies and procedures related to COVID-19. The student voluntarily and knowingly assumes the risk of exposure to or infection of COVID-19 by using the services or premises, and that such exposure or infection may result in personal injury or illness. The student also acknowledges that it is impossible to fully mitigate the risk of becoming exposed to or infected by COVID-19 and that such exposure or infection may result from the actions, omissions or negligence of the student, university faculty and staff and other students or visitors to campus. The university will follow all state guidelines and provide guidance on proper protection to alleviate and/or decrease the spread of viruses.

Vendors:

The university has taken steps to implement substantial precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. By entering onto the Quinnipiac University campus, the vendor agrees to abide by all university’s policies and procedures related to COVID-19. The vendor voluntarily and knowingly assumes the risk of exposure to or infection of COVID-19 by using the services or premises, and that such exposure or infection may result in personal injury or illness. The vendor also acknowledges that it is impossible to fully mitigate the risk of becoming exposed to or infected by COVID-19 and that such exposure or infection may result from the actions, omissions or negligence of the vendor, university faculty and staff and other students or visitors to campus. The university will follow all state guidelines and provide guidance on proper protection to alleviate and/or decrease the spread of viruses.

Faculty and Staff:

The university has taken steps to implement substantial precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. By entering onto the Quinnipiac University campus, the employee agrees to abide by all university’s policies and procedures related to COVID-19. The employee also acknowledges that it is impossible to fully mitigate the risk of becoming exposed to or infected by COVID-19 and that such exposure or infection may result from the actions, omissions or negligence of the employee, university faculty and staff, students or visitors to campus. The university will follow all state guidelines and provide guidance on proper protection to alleviate and/or decrease the spread of viruses.