Symptoms:

• Symptoms may include new onset of fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle or body aches, sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose, fatigue, and new loss of sense of taste or smell, diarrhea and vomiting, although not all those who have COVID-19 develop symptoms.

Prevention:

• Avoid contact with sick people and stay home when you are ill. 
• Maintain at least 6 feet distance between yourself and others. 
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Clean your hands often by washing them with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or by using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60-95% alcohol. 
• It is especially important to clean your hands after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose.
• Cover your face with a face-covering in all indoor and public places.

UCCS encourages members of our community to get the vaccine at an upcoming UCCS COVID vaccine clinic or at a community vaccine clinic that can be found by visiting https://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/how-can-i-get-a-vaccine. In addition to getting vaccinated, practicing the prevention strategies described above remains an important strategy in preventing infection.

If you are experiencing any new onset COVID-like symptoms you should refrain from coming to campus, isolate yourself, and reach out to your primary care provider or, if you are a student, the UCCS Wellness Center (719-255-4444) for next steps. If you are experiencing difficulty breathing/shortness of breath you should seek immediate medical attention. Please call before coming into the Wellness Center, doctor's office or emergency room to let them know about your symptoms.

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19:

If you:

Have been boosted

OR

Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 5 months

OR

Completed the primary series of J&J vaccines within the last 2 months

• Wear a mask around others for 10 days.
• Test on day 5, if possible. If negative, you may resume your regular activities while monitoring for symptoms and wearing a mask around others. If positive, you should begin an isolation phase. (See isolation FAQ)

If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home until test results are received.

If you:

Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 5 months ago and are not boosted

OR

Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted

OR

Are unvaccinated

• Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.

• If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.
• Test on day 5 if possible. If negative, you may resume your regular activities while monitoring for symptoms and wearing a mask around others. If positive, you should begin an isolation phase.

If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home until test results are received.

ISOLATION

If You Test Positive for COVID-19: Everyone, regardless of vaccination status.

• Isolate for 5 days
• If you have no symptoms on day 5, you can leave your house/room and need to wear a mask for the next 5days.
• If your symptoms are not resolved by day 5, you need to continue to isolate for a full 10 days.

If you have a fever, continue to stay home until you have been fever-free without the use of medicine for 24 hours.

QUARANTINE

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19:

If you:

Have been boosted

OR

Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 5 months

OR

Completed the primary series of J&J vaccines within the last 2 months

• Wear a mask around others for 10 days.
• Test on day 5, if possible.

If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home.

If you have tested positive for COVID in the past 90 days you do not need to quarantine.

If you:

Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 5 months ago and are not boosted

OR

Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted

OR

Are unvaccinated

• Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
• If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.
• Test on day 5 if possible.

If you develop symptoms, get a test and stay home until you receive your results.

If You Were Exposed to Someone with COVID-19:

If you:

Have been boosted
OR
Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 5 months
OR
Completed the primary series of J&J vaccines within the last 2 months

• Wear a mask around others for 10 days.
• Test on day 5, if possible.

If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home.

If you:

Completed the primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over 5 months ago and are not boosted
OR
Completed the primary series of J&J over 2 months ago and are not boosted
OR
Are unvaccinated

• Stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
• If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.
• Test on day 5 if possible.

If you develop symptoms get a test and stay home

Individuals experiencing any COVID-like symptoms should isolate themselves for 5 days or until tested for COVID-19. It is ideal to test on days 2-5 for the most accurate results.

An individual may end isolation sooner if they test negative for COVID-19, AND if symptoms have improved, AND if one of the symptoms is not a new onset of loss of sense of smell and taste, AND if they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.

Individuals may also end isolation if they receive another definite medical diagnosis that explains their symptoms such as strep throat.

An individual that experiences a loss of sense of smell or taste, must isolate following the above guidance even if their test result is negative.

Anyone that does not have a close contact to the actual positive case does not need to quarantine.

The person who was a close contact to the positive individual should follow quarantine instructions, which includes avoiding contact with you to keep you from having to quarantine as well. See below for examples.

Examples:  

• My significant other was exposed to a positive case at work, but they have not tested positive and do not have any COVID like symptoms. Can I come to work?  
  • Yes. You may come to work, but your significant other should quarantine away from you. Should they test positive at a later date, you will need to quarantine at that point. 
• My friend’s mom tested positive. I didn’t spend any time with her, but my friend did. Do I need to quarantine?  
  • No. You only need to quarantine if your friend tests positive. You should avoid contact with your friend during their quarantine period. 
• Someone in one of my classes mentioned that they have COVID like symptoms. Can I come to campus?  
  • Yes, you may come to campus. Until we know if someone has tested positive a quarantine is not put into place. Someone from the UCCS Wellness Center or El Paso County Public Health will reach out to you if you need to quarantine based on close contact with someone who tested positive.

An individual diagnosed with COVID-19 is infectious for 48 hours prior to the onset of their symptoms and for up to 10 days after the onset of symptoms. During contact tracing, individuals should report any close contacts they had after the development of symptoms as well as the 48 hours prior. 

If you had a severe illness from COVID-19 (you were admitted to a hospital and needed oxygen), your healthcare provider may recommend that you stay in isolation for longer than 10 days after your symptoms first appeared (possibly up to 20 days) and you may need to finish your period of isolation at home.

If you have developed NEW COVID-like symptoms, you should get tested for COVID-19 2-5 days after symptom onset, and refrain from coming to campus until you receive a negative test result or you receive a different diagnosis by a health care provider that has ruled out COVID-19.

If you are a student, call the Wellness Center at 719-255-4444 for an appointment.

If you are faculty/staff, call your primary care provider.

Employees should contact their supervisor and work with UCCS Human Resources for the next steps. If you were on campus during your infectious period, 48 hours prior to symptom onset and 10 days following symptom onset, you should notify the Wellness Center by emailing contrac@uccs.edu so they may assist with contact tracing.

Students who receive positive test results from a non-UCCS provider should notify the Wellness Center by emailing contrac@uccs.edu.

Students who need additional support with things such as notifying professors should contact the Dean of Students office at dos@uccs.edu

TESTING FOR STUDENTS:

Active UCCS students can be tested at the UCCS Wellness Center through an appointment by calling 719-255-4444. The Wellness Center is currently offering telehealth visits and testing for students experiencing COVID like symptoms and for close contacts of positive cases. The Wellness Center offers rapid antigen testing for symptomatic individuals, as well as PCR testing that is sent to a lab with results typically in 48 -72 hours. Commuter students may find it easy to visit a community testing site which can be found at https://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/covid-19-testing-information. 

TESTING FOR EMPLOYEES:

Faculty and staff may be tested by contacting their primary care provider or by visiting a community testing site. 

WHEN TO GET TESTED:

For optimal results, COVID testing for symptomatic individuals is days 2-5 after developing symptoms. Optimal results for individuals exposed to a positive case that are currently asymptomatic is 5 days after exposure. 

The Wellness Center is able to provide testing to actively enrolled students by calling 719-255-4444 for an appointment.

Individuals in quarantine and isolation should not travel via any public means of transportation.

If an individual in isolation or quarantine can make it to their home in a vehicle without needing to stop, they will be allowed to drive home.

Individuals from out of state or outside a short drive from campus will need to complete their isolation period if they test positive or their quarantine period from the last day they were deemed to be a close contact of a confirmed positive case on campus.

Unfortunately, exceptions about travel cannot be made since this is a public health issue. 

Please do not walk into the Wellness Center if you are experiencing any COVID-like symptoms. Appointments for telehealth visits and testing can be scheduled by calling 719-255-4444.

The Wellness Center is able to provide testing to actively enrolled students.

Most countries and some states require a negative PCR test prior to travel. For asymptomatic individuals seeking testing prior to travel, review your destination's requirements for testing to ensure you get an adequate test. The Wellness Center is able to offer students some pre-travel testing depending on your departure schedule and timing of test results. Students can call 719-255-4444 to assess the best option for their testing. For a list of community testing sites that offer PCR testing visit https://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/covid-19-testing-information. Please allow 2-4 days prior to travel to get your results back. 

Per the CDC, if it has been less than 90 days from their positive result, they do not need to quarantine again.
 

If you were deemed to be a direct contact of a positive case, you will receive notification from the UCCS Wellness Center or El Paso County Public Health along with instructions on what to do.

If you were sent a broad notice of being at a large scale event or class with someone who has since tested positive for COVID, but do not receive a call or notification specific to you, you should monitor yourself for COVID symptoms for 14 days following the event or class, consider getting tested 5 days after the event or class, wear a mask in all indoor settings for 10 days, but no additional measures such as a quarantine are needed.

If you develop any symptoms during that time frame, you should seek testing 2-5 days after symptom onset and isolate (stay home from work/school/social events) from the day symptoms started until you receive negative results.

If you have a positive test you should follow the guidance for isolation.

If one of your symptoms is loss of sense of smell or taste, you should also isolate regardless of test results.

If you are an employee with HR questions related to COVID please email hrhelp@uccs.edu.  

For student employee-related questions, please contact Student Employment at stuemphelp@uccs.edu.

If you are experiencing any new onset COVID-like symptoms you should refrain from coming to campus and isolate yourself.

If you are a student or employee who has concerns about a campus-related exposure for yourself or others please email contrac@uccs.edu.

• If you have tested positive and were on campus while infectious, please include the date of onset of symptoms, the location where your test was performed, or note if it was a home test, the date you were on campus, and which individuals may have been exposed.
  • Example: I developed symptoms on January 10th, tested positive on January 12th, and attended my PSY XXXX section 001 course with Professor XXX on January 9th.
     
• If you tested positive, but are asymptomatic, please include the date of your test. If you are a student, please attach a copy of your test results to the email to expedite the contact tracing process.

If you had a known COVID exposure, tested positive, or have other COVID-related questions and have not been on campus, please call the El Paso County Public Health call center at 719-575-8888. Hours are Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you have general questions about COVID-19, call CO HELP at 303-389-1687 or 1-877-462-2911.

• You can also email COHELP@RMPDC.org for answers in English and Spanish (Español), Mandarin (普通话), and more.
• American Sign Language COVID-19 Hotline visit https://tinyurl.com/ASLCOVID.

If you have developed NEW COVID-like symptoms, you should get tested 2-5 days after symptom onset, and refrain from coming to campus until you receive a negative test result or you receive a different diagnosis by a health care provider that has ruled out COVID-19.

If you are a student and need to schedule a telehealth visit or testing appointment, call the Wellness Center at 719-255-4444.

If you are faculty/staff, call your primary care provider.

Employees should contact their supervisor and work with UCCS Human Resources for the next steps. If you were on campus within 48 hours of developing symptoms,  you should notify the Wellness Center by emailing contrac@uccs.edu so they may assist with contact tracing.

Students who receive positive test results from a non-UCCS provider should notify the Wellness Center by emailing contrac@uccs.edu.

Students who need additional support with things such as notifying professors should contact the Dean of Students office at dos@uccs.edu

You can find information about obtaining a vaccine here. The UCCS Wellness Center also offers clinics so watch your emails for information on how to register.