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COVID-19 SCREENING
b. Lying is not a behavior supported in the University community and can lead to additional Student Code charges and consequences for the offending student. c. Students who provide false or misleading information receive student conduct code charges. If the student is charged, the process outlined above will be initiated. Aug. 28: Is there anything else you’re able to add for the story [regarding OU’s noncompliance reporting form]? Answer provided Aug. 31 by Dixon: No. Sept. 1: Are some OU employers/professors requiring people to fill the screening out? If so, how are they keeping people from returning to class/workplace? Do they have the authority to keep people off of campus? Answer provided Sept. 3: The mandatory screening form is [a] required tool for community members and visitors directed to complete in order to come to campus. The university can keep individuals from returning to campus who are infected, or may be infected, until they meet certain requirements. The decision of who is cleared to return to campus is made by Goddard Health Services professionals, who make determinations based on public health best practices and CDC guidance.
• Is the Screening Tool programmed to provide different answers for faculty, staff, and students, or are all groups evaluated for campus return with the same methods? An email is sent to an individual who fills out the screening form and should flag someone waiting on a pending test and send an email informing them they are not cleared. Additional answer: There have been no reports to Goddard that suggest the system is not working properly. Goddard will review its process to ensure everything is in working order. Anyone waiting on pending test results should quarantine until test results are received. If at any time an individual feels a response is in error, they should reach out to Goddard directly. Sept. 2: I’m emailing you in regards to tomorrow’s OUr Safety Protest. Did you know about this protest previously and is there anything you’d like to address? Answer provided Sept. 3: Since the beginning of the pandemic, OU has made safety its top priority, enacting a range of protocols designed to create a safe environment. All decisions made are science-based and under the primary guidance of our OU Chief COVID Officer, Dr. Dale Bratzler. As we have since March, we will prioritize safety, remain responsive to the changing landscape, and communicate often with the OU community.
1. They are in their own enclosed private workspace or dorm room with no one else present.
• playing a musical instrument or singing for academic purposes, provided, however, that schools, departments, and classes may elect to require masks in class; or • for students living on campus, bathing or sleeping. 3. They are outdoors and are able to socially distance from others by 6 feet or more. If individuals are outdoors and are not able to maintain a physical distance of at least 6 feet, an appropriate face mask must also be worn. Sept. 2: We heard from someone who tested at Goddard, filled out the Screening Tool and indicated they were waiting on test results and were asymptomatic, and they were told they were cleared to come back to campus. • Did the Screening Tool work correctly in this instance? Are those who are asymptomatic and waiting on a test being advised to return to campus before they get their results? • What about those who are symptomatic and waiting on results? • If it did work correctly, is that safe?
Goddard Health Center, similar to other clinics, collects the samples that are [turned in] and sent to reference labs [to do] the testing to find out if the sample is positive or negative. Result time is based on the lab and testing demand and supply, but normally results are available in one to two days. Aug. 27: Are those people [who have taken a PCR test and are waiting on results] instructed to isolate or do anything differently in the meantime?
Aug. 27: Please tell me in which of these scenarios OU would be notified (and subsequently report) positive tests, before the individual uses the Screening and Reporting Tool.
Individuals may remove masks only if:
• eating and drinking;
Aug. 27: How long does it take someone to receive the results of a PCR test from Goddard? Are those people instructed to isolate or do anything differently in the meantime?
While awaiting Goddard PCR testing results, individuals are encouraged to self-isolate.
Sept. 1: I just wanted to clarify something about the mask rule. If you have your own office on campus (as faculty, staff or a student employee), are you allowed to take off your mask if you’re alone in your office? We just wanted to check and see that this rule also applies to students if they have their own office.
2. They are participating in activities in which a face mask cannot practically be worn, such as:
county to provide the most reliable information to monitor community infection and is using contact tracing to advise any OU community member who is potentially impacted. The university encourages all students, regardless of whether they live on or off-campus, to notify Goddard Health if and when they test positive for COVID-19. Goddard Health Center will then be able to contact trace reported PCR positive cases affiliated with OU, in partnership with the Cleveland County Health department. Details regarding Cross’ independent tracking can be retrieved directly from Cross.
PHOTO BY RAY BAHNER/THE DAILY
Protesters in front of Evans Hall during the OUr Safety First Protest Sept. 3.
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COVID-19 reporting:
Aug. 27: Does Goddard do rapid COVID tests? If so, are the results of these tests reported to OU and reflected in OU’s reporting? Goddard administers PCR testing, which is reflective in state reporting. Aug. 27: Will students who test positive while living at Cross be accounted for in university reporting? If no, will Cross management be sharing information independently? The university recently entered into an agreement to perform functions and activities relating to contact tracing for COVID-19 on behalf of [the Oklahoma State Department of Health]. The university is utilizing testing data from Goddard Health Center and aggregate data from the
*Context: The list of scenarios was sent Aug. 27 with the above question, and remains in bold below, with Keith’s answers following in unbolded text. The scenario answers were provided Aug. 28, along with the additional statement after the scenarios. OU community members who receive a positive test from Goddard Health are tracked according to their provided address. OU community members who currently reside in Cleveland County are reported through the Cleveland County Health Department, if those individuals provide their OU Housing or Cleveland County address. Any addresses outside of Cleveland County will be tracked in their respective county health departments and may not be reflective on the OU COVID-19 Dashboard. Goddard staff encourages local addresses to be used to ensure medical communications go directly to the patient and for proper tracking and reporting. More information about the dashboard will be released tomorrow. However, one basis to go by is the University will be utilizing PCR testing data from Goddard Health Center and aggregate PCR testing data from Cleveland County. This means in all scenarios below that say ‘test at Goddard’ will be reflected on the dashboard. The state of Oklahoma only tracks and reports PCR tests- not rapid tests. This means any PCR test taken at any Cleveland County site, will also be reflected on the dashboard. Additional answers provided Aug. 28: A student who lives at Cross, tests at Goddard, and lists Cross as their address. Goddard and CCH [Cleveland County Health Department] data
