As a part of our continued commitment to campus health and in accordance with national and state recommendations for colleges and universities in managing respiratory viruses (COVID-19, flu, RSV, etc.), Furman University has adopted the CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance.
Respiratory Virus Guidance
Furman encourages faculty, staff and students to be immunized against COVID-19, flu and RSV.
Talk with a healthcare provider to make sure you are up to date on vaccines.
Visit www.vaccines.gov to locate pharmacies with vaccines near you.
STUDENTS: If you are concerned about your health and are experiencing symptoms (fever of 100.4˚ or higher and/or chills, fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, headache, muscle pain or fatigue), please call the Earle Student Health Center at 864-522-2000 to schedule a virtual visit. You can also schedule a Virtual Visit via your MyChart account. Our team will evaluate your illness and, if appropriate, discuss the need for testing.
In the meantime, DO NOT go to class, work or dining facilities or engage in any other activity with other individuals.
For general questions about respiratory viruses, please call the Earle Student Health Center at 864-522-2000 and our clinical team will assist with answering your questions.
FACULTY AND STAFF: Employees who are symptomatic or have obtained a positive test should not report to work and are encouraged to notify their supervisor.
Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren’t better explained by another cause. These symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others.
- STUDENTS: DO NOT go to class, work or dining facilities or engage in any other activity with other individuals.
- FACULTY/STAF: DO NOT report to work.
You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:
- Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
- You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors.
Students can work with Dining Services to use their meal swipes in exchange for a box of groceries that a friend could deliver to them off campus (if they stay locally to isolate) or to their room on campus. Contact Tony McGuirt to make arrangements.
Furman does not guarantee remote access to academic courses and/or any other offerings during isolation. Students must communicate with their individual instructors to develop a plan to make up any missed academic work, as is our normal protocol for other illnesses.
Tuition, room and board charges will not be reduced for students who are required to isolate. Students are responsible for any personal costs and expenses associated with respiratory viruses.
Individuals who have been within six feet of an infected roommate for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period are considered a close contact. Most people are contagious two days prior to becoming symptomatic or receiving a positive test. It is likely that an individual who is a close contact of a roommate has already been exposed to the respiratory virus before their roommate tests positive.
Residential students should plan in advance for alternate, temporary living arrangements in emergencies. As such, students living with a roommate who tests positive for a respiratory virus and who are at increased risk for severe illness from a respiratory virus should enact that plan. In dire circumstances, students may contact Housing & Residence Life to explore temporary options, if available.
Recommendations for roommates of students with a respiratory virus:
- Wear a well-fitting mask when in public, especially indoors.
- If symptoms develop, students should contact the Earle Student Health Center at 864.522.2000 for an appointment and testing.
- If students test positive, email [email protected] and inform them of the result.
Wearing a mask can help lower the risk of respiratory virus transmission. When worn by a person with an infection, masks reduce the spread of the virus to others. Masks can also protect wearers from breathing in infectious particles from people around them. Different masks offer different levels of protection.
Instructors may not require masking in classrooms, and masking is not required at CLP events.
- Faculty and staff may require that students and colleagues wear a mask when entering their office, studio or high-contact lab areas, or when meeting individually. Likewise, students may ask faculty or staff to wear a mask when meeting with them individually.
- Faculty, staff and students may require masking of all participants when traveling in vehicles on or off campus for university-sponsored purposes.
- In both instances above, the faculty or staff member must provide the mask(s).
Faculty and staff who require or may qualify for reasonable accommodations based on a disability may work with the Human Resources to inquire about the ADA process. Students who require or may qualify for reasonable accommodations based on a disability may work with the Student Office for Accessibility Resources to inquire about the ADA process. Additionally, students, faculty and/or staff may receive notification that masks are required in classrooms or other spaces on campus to reasonably accommodate a student or colleague’s confidential disability.
Furman is supportive of students, faculty and staff who choose to wear masks, and individuals should not be questioned about their decision, nor should they be discouraged or prohibited from wearing them.
Putting physical distance between yourself and others can help lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
There is no single number that defines a “safe” distance, since spread of viruses can depend on many factors.
Individuals can avoid being near someone who has respiratory virus symptoms.
Individuals can avoid crowded areas where you may be unable to maintain physical distance.
Testing is an additional prevention strategy that you can choose to assist in making decisions to further protect yourself and others.
There are various types of tests for respiratory virus infections. Antigen tests (“self-tests” or “rapid tests”) usually return results quickly (around 15 minutes). Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), which include polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, are normally conducted by a healthcare provider. Although antigen tests are usually faster, they are not as good at detecting viruses as NAATs. This means that you might get a negative result with an antigen test, but actually be infected with the virus.
The Earle Student Health Center may administer a respiratory virus test to students who are symptomatic.
Faculty, staff and students participating in Furman-sponsored travel are expected to follow required local, state, federal and international health and safety protocols.
The following tips will help minimize the transmission of disease:
- Wear masks in all forms of transportation;
- Reduce density in sleeping quarters; and
- Maintain small pods of close contacts.
Trip leaders must have a plan to immediately separate symptomatic individuals from the group, connect them with a healthcare provider, and safely return them to campus.
Individuals and trip leaders must have the ability to rapidly test a symptomatic individual at the first sign of symptom development (rapid antigen “at-home” tests may be the best choice).
Administrators and health professionals will continue to monitor respiratory virus conditions in our community. If it becomes necessary, mitigation protocols may be required.