COVID-19 Information

Just as with the flu or other communicable illnesses, you should follow CDC and DHEC guidelines established to limit exposure and spread of COVID-19.

If you test positive:

• Begin to isolate as soon as you receive your results, or as soon as you are symptomatic while awaiting results.
• No in-person class, work or leaving your isolation location for anything but necessities.
• Notify your professors of your absence.
• Wear a high quality mask any time you are around others.
• Wash hands, use hand sanitizer, and disinfect surfaces regularly.

 

If you are on campus: You should either go home to isolate or to another off-campus location. Isolating in place should only be utilized as a last resort measure.

If you are off campus: Roommates, housemates, and family members can safely isolate within a household by practicing rigorous risk mitigation strategies.

If you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, take precautions immediately.

• Wear a high-quality mask any time you are around others inside your home or in public.
• Monitor for symptoms. If you develop symptoms, get tested and isolate until results are obtained.

Visit the CDC and SC DHEC websites for more information.

Individuals who test positive should also notify their close-contacts. A close-contact is someone who has been within 6 feet of you for at least 15 consecutive minutes (indoors or outdoors) over a 24-hour period.

Your list of close-contacts should go back to 2 days before you had symptoms, or 2 days before your test if you had no symptoms (you could have been contagious then).

Reach out to as many of your close contacts as you can, and let them know you tested positive.

• A fully vaccinated close-contact (a person considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after the second shot in a 2-dose series, like the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines; or 2 weeks after a single-shot vaccine, like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine):
  • does not need to quarantine but should be sure to wear a mask for 10 days.
  • should get tested if they have symptoms.
  • should get tested on day 5 after being near you, even if they don’t have symptoms.
• An unvaccinated or partially vaccinated close-contact (person who has not received all eligible vaccines):
  • does not need to quarantine but should be sure to wear a mask for 10 days.
• • should get tested on day 5 after being near you, even if they don’t have symptoms.
  • should get tested if they have any symptoms.

If you have a positive test, you do not need another test for 3 months after the test date or when symptoms began as long as you do not have any symptoms of COVID-19.

While masks are not required at Lander University, any faculty, staff or students who wish to wear a mask in any campus settings are welcome and encouraged to do so. The University will continue monitoring COVID-19 developments and public health guidance, and should case rates begin trending upward, Lander’s mask policy may be reinstated.

One of the most effective - and simplest - practices that you can do to prevent the spread of any infectious illnesses, such as COVID-19, the common cold and flu, is to frequently and thoroughly wash your hands.

 

Practicing Good Hand Hygiene

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Follow these steps every time:

• Wet your hands with clean, running water, turn off the tap, and apply soap.
• Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
• Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds.
• Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
• Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
• Also remember - avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry. Hand sanitizer stations are placed throughout campus in common and high-traffic areas, and Lander's custodial staff will ensure that all stations remain stocked.

It is especially important to clean your hands after you have been in a public space, or touched an item or surface that may have been touched by others, such as:

• Door knobs and handles
• Desks, tables and chairs
• Handrails
• Elevator buttons
• Computer equipment
• Phones
• Copiers/printers
• Pens/writing utensils