What is
CONTACT TRACING? Contact tracing is a process run by the Department of Health. At Hofstra, we work with the Nassau County Department of Health. Contact tracing is the process of contacting all people who’ve had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID—19. Notifying people who have been exposed so they can quarantine is an important tool for controlling the spread of the virus.
WHAT IS CLOSE CONTACT? Close contact is defined as spending at least 15 minutes at a distance of less than six feet with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING CONTACT TRACING? A contact tracer trained by the New York State Department of Health will call the person who tested positive and interview them about everyone with whom the patient has recently been in close contact. If you get a call from “NYS Contact Tracing” (518-387-9993), PLEASE answer the phone. Answering the phone will keep your loved ones and community safe. Then, the contact tracer will contact those people and help them get tested for COVID-19. All information is kept confidential; the contact tracers do not share the name of the person who tested positive with any of the close contacts they notify. Contact tracers will never ask you for financial information, a social security or credit card number.
HOW WILL CONTACT TRACING WORK AT HOFSTRA? If a student living on campus tests positive for COVID-19: • The student is immediately isolated (either off-campus or in campus housing set aside for this purpose) and, as per CDC guidelines, will only discontinue isolation under the following conditions: • At least 10 days* have passed since symptom onset and • At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and • Other symptoms have improved. • For persons who never develop symptoms, isolation and other precautions can be discontinued 10 days after the date of their first positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 RNA • In coordination with the Department of Health, the University Student Health Center will notify their roommates and suitemates to determine if they have been in close contact, and if so they will be quarantined for 14 days. Students will be encouraged to quarantine at home if possible and continue taking classes remotely. • The Nassau County Health Department will work with the students involved to notify all other people, including faculty, staff, and other students, deemed to have had close contact, as appropriate. • Unless students choose to do so, health information should not be shared publicly with others.
IF YOU ARE CONTACTED BY CONTACT TRACERS…. FOR THE HEALTH OF YOUR FRIENDS AND COMMUNITY, PLEASE COOPERATE.