Dear Campus Community:
The College has been transitioning its quarantine and isolation (QI) guidelines to align with the latest CDC QI recommendations issued on January 9, 2022.
We will be updating the health protocols on the COVID-19 website; in the meantime, here are four key items that have changed for both students and employees, effective immediately:
- Who is Considered Up to date on Vaccinations: The CDC now considers your vaccinations “up to date” when you’ve completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccination AND a booster (when eligible). If you have completed the primary vaccination series and are not yet eligible for a booster, you are also considered “up to date” until your booster is due.
- You are eligible for a booster 5 months after the last dose in your primary series for Moderna or Pfizer, or 2 months after your first J&J dose. A person is considered boosted and up to date right after getting their booster dose.
- Who Has to Quarantine When Exposed:
- If you are not up to date on your vaccinations and have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, there is now a 5-day quarantine period. Stay home and do not go to class/activities/work for at least 5 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19. Wear a well-fitting mask when around others at home/in your residence hall. Students may grab to-go food and visit the Student Health Center.
- If you are fully up to date, you do NOT need to quarantine unless you develop symptoms.
- In either situation, you should mask around others for 10 days, monitor symptoms and test at least 5 days after exposure.
- How Long to Isolate When Positive: If you test positive for COVID-19, you are required to isolate (stay home and separate from other household members, or transfer to Isolation Housing) for at least 5 days; this is a change from the 10 days that were previously required. (Students who are isolating when this change goes into effect will receive notification from a QI coordinator letting them know what, if any, adjustment will be made to their isolation period.)
- Who Performs Contact Tracing: Due to the volume of positive COVID cases, the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services department and the Student Health Center are no longer able to do thorough contact tracing. You will need to let anyone that you have been in close contact* with, starting 2 days prior to your positive test or your symptom onset, know that they need to review the current CDC recommendations for exposure to a COVID positive case.
*The CDC defines a close contact as someone who was less than 6 feet away from a confirmed infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, within 2 days prior to illness onset or positive test, even if both parties were masked.
When students take a COVID-19 test through the Student Health Center (SHC), the SHC will provide instructions on next steps for quarantine or isolation when they send you your results. Please read them carefully. If you test positive, whether you live on or off campus, a QI coordinator will also contact you.
With the change to the quarantine period, it’s strongly recommended that you get your booster as soon as possible after becoming eligible. There are additional spots remaining for the January 20 booster clinic if you have not signed up already.
Thank you for Protecting the Hive,
J. Malcolm Smith
Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students
Danette Ifert Johnson
Provost