Updated 2 March 2020
Dear Students,
We want to update you on the latest developments on the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, and provide guidance as many of you may have domestic or international travel plans during Spring Break and for other personal travel.
We all have a responsibility to ourselves and to our community to make intentional, healthy and informed choices about travel during Spring Break or otherwise. The COVID-19 outbreak is a very dynamic, rapidly evolving situation, so it is important to have a clear understanding of the risk and impact of your travel during this time.
Below are guidelines and resources we encourage you to use for your travel:
- Bookmark the university's Coronavirus Updates for the Emory Community. This page provides regular updates on travel advisories, phone numbers, links and support resources to reflect the most recent guidance and developments.
- Currently, all official Emory-sanctioned student travel to Italy, China and South Korea is suspended indefinitely and we urge you to take these actions into consideration as you plan your personal travel.
- Use credible sources for additional travel advisories and recommended precautions. These include:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Be aware that any CDC Level 2 travel warning should require an assessment of the necessity for your travel to the affected area. A Level 3 CDC travel warning should necessitate a cancellation of your travel plans to that country.
- The U.S. State Department
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Download Emory's LiveSafe App on your phone. This application will connect you with Emory resources and serve as a notification tool as well.
- Emory also contracts with International SOS to provide travelers a variety of online health, safety and security resources. Emory students, staff and faculty on personal travel also can take steps to be alerted to evolving health and security threats by subscribing to receive travel alerts from ISOS.
***If You Travel to Affected Areas***
For those students who have returned or will return from a country that is on the CDC’s list of countries with sustained community transmission within the past 14 days, please follow the following protocols:
- For students who do not have any symptoms and who have not received information from the health department upon your return at the airport, call Student Health Services (404-727-7551) or Oxford Student Health Services (770-784-8376) upon your return for an assessment. We will review appropriate measures for self-monitoring and review individualized up-to-date guidance concerning any additional recommended measures, such as social distancing, per the CDC guidelines.
- For symptomatic students , i.e. fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc., isolate yourself from others and call Student Health Services for further directives concerning evaluation procedures. If you are having chest pain, serious difficulty breathing or another type of medical emergency, please call 911.
***Information for All Students***
We recommend everyone maintain healthy practices. The foundation of keeping yourself and the community safe is to maintain good respiratory and hand hygiene and appropriate cough etiquette, which includes the following:
- Use hand sanitizer routinely (at least 60% alcohol) and wash your hands frequently with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds.
- Cover your cough and sneezes with your sleeve or a tissue.
- Using a face mask only if you are ill (not necessary when you are well). All ill students with fever and cough will be masked prior to entering Student Health Services.
- Stay at home if you are ill, especially if you have a fever. Resume regular routines when you are fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications.
- For environmental hygiene, use bleach wipes and wipe down all commonly touched surfaces.
- As COVID-19 mimics the flu, it is not too late to get your flu shot to limit your risk of having a similar illness.
- These and other measures can be reviewed here.
Emory’s commitment to the health and safety of our community is paramount. As this situation evolves, please be assured that there is extensive coordination among Emory administrators as well as medical, public health and emergency preparedness and response experts who are focused on developing a cohesive university response. We are very fortunate to have some of the nation's best experts on our campus and next door at the CDC to support this function. We are here to support and keep everyone safe in every way we can.
This is the time to be kind and inclusive of all our fellow students and community members as this is an event highlighting the vulnerability we all share.
Sincerely,
Sharon Rabinovitz, MD
Interim Assistant Vice President and Executive Director
Emory University Student Health Services
Updated 4 February 2020
Emory University’s commitment to the health and safety of our community is paramount. The new year has arrived with a surge in Influenza and now our attention has been directed to the emerging Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China, which is spreading to surrounding countries. We are concerned about the health and well-being of all those impacted by this public health threat – and we offer our sincerest condolences to those who may be directly or indirectly affected.
We wanted to reassure you that Emory University has systems in place to monitor, identify, and respond swiftly to any potential case of Coronavirus. We will keep the Emory community updated, as the situation evolves.
Students who arrived in the United States prior to February 3 with travel from mainland China within the last 14 days should contact Student Health Services at 404-727-7551 for a risk screening, if they have not already done so.
After screening, you will be asked to be familiar with self-observation, unless instructed otherwise.
Self-observation means you should remain alert for subjective fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. If you feel feverish or develop cough or difficulty breathing during the self-observation period, you should take your temperature, limit contact with others, and seek health advice by telephone from a healthcare provider, as instructed, to determine whether medical evaluation is needed.
If you feel ill and need to seek health advice by telephone:
- Call the Emory Student Health Services (SHS) office at 404-727-7551 to speak to medical personnel who can assess and guide your next steps.
- If you are having chest pain, serious difficulty breathing, or another type of medical emergency, please call 911.
Further information concerning the status and the associated public health response can be found in the following resources:
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2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), Wuhan, China |
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Coronavirus |
Because we are also at the height of the influenza season, here are some tips to decrease your risk of contracting influenza of which we are seeing many active cases:
- Get vaccinated against influenza! It is not too late. As in other years, the coverage is not 100 percent, but it can ameliorate symptoms for those who do become infected and decrease the risk of severe complications.
- Wash your hands, use hand sanitizer liberally, and don’t touch your face.
- If you are sick, do not go to classes, cover your cough, and seek help, especially with severe symptoms or if you are at high risk for complications due to asthma or diabetes, for example. Each of us has a responsibility to ourself and our community.
Below are links to more information from Emory.
In Health,
Sharon Rabinovitz, MD
Interim Assistant Vice President and Executive Director
Emory University Student Health Services