Student Health Services and the divisions represented on the Emergency Management Team are taking steps to promote early recognition of and rapid response to possible coronavirus cases to minimize the potential for the illness to spread within the Quinnipiac community. We have already been in contact with local public health authorities to coordinate our efforts with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has begun regular conference calls that we are participating in.

To safeguard the university community, we are making the following recommendations:

• All students are reminded to practice daily hygiene to prevent the spread of all types of respiratory illnesses. This includes regular handwashing (at least 20 seconds with soapy water), covering your cough/sneeze, and limiting close contact with other people, particularly if you or they are ill. Avoid contact with saliva of other people, both through direct contact and contact with food, drinks or eating utensils they have used.

• If you are a student who has traveled to China or to a city where the coronavirus has been identified and you have a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, please call Student Health Services at 203-582-8742 for further instructions. If it is after hours, call the same number and press option 2.

• Staff and faculty members who experience these symptoms should contact their primary care physicians for guidance.

For additional medical information, please visit the CDC website

If you’re considering traveling out of the country, please contact the university’s International Studies Office and enroll in STEP for destination-specific travel updates from the U.S. State Department.

Finally, if you have not had a flu shot, we encourage you to get one by going to any pharmacy where your health insurance will cover all or most of the cost. This is helpful because the symptoms of the virus and influenza are very similar. If you experience flu-like symptoms, please consider the effect on others’ health as well as your own and take the time needed to stay home, rest and recover.

Sincerely,
Phil Brewer, MD, University Medical Director for Student Health
Christy Chase, Director of Student Health Services