Video: What students can expect this fall

Transcript

Chris Beyer, director of Residential Life:

As you're preparing to return to campus, you might be wondering what will happen if I get COVID-19. We're going to take a minute now to explain exactly what we plan to do.

Dr. Dara L. Wegman-Geedey, professor of biology:

We need everyone to be familiar with the symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms can include cough, difficulty breathing, fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, or loss of taste or loss of sense of smell. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, call your doctor and follow their instructions. In fact, before you return to campus, it's important for you to think now about who you're going to call if you start experiencing any of these symptoms.

Tom Phillis, chief, Augustana Police Department:

After you contact your doctor, notify the college. You can notify the college by calling public safety at 309-794-7711. Public safety will put you in touch with one of our trained contact tracers. The contact tracer will arrange for you to move temporarily into isolation housing. Isolation is used to separate people that are suspected or known to have the virus from people that are not infected. Isolation will be either a house or an apartment, but you'll have a private bathroom.

Fred Kurt, director of Dining Services

We will stay in touch with you the entire time you are in isolation and we will arrange to have food delivered to you. You should not leave isolation to attend class or for any reason other than a fire alarm.

Farrah Roberts, director of student well-being and resiliency:

Our contact tracing team will work with you to compile a list of contacts you may have unintentionally exposed. We will reach out to all the contacts on this list and not share your name, but we will ask them to sequester in place until we know your test results. Sequester means that they will stay in place in their current housing situation. They should not leave for any reason other than to use the restroom. They shouldn't have guests and should avoid contact with others. Roommates will sequester in place together. Sequester in place will only last for your contacts until we know your test results. If you are negative, they can end their sequester. If you are positive, this will trigger the next phase of our process.

Dr. Rebecca Heick,assistant professor of public health

If you test positive for COVID-19, your close contacts will be asked to quarantine for 14 days. Quarantine is designed to separate people who have been exposed to COVID-19 from those who have not been exposed to covid-19. People in quarantine are not sick, but may develop symptoms over the next 14 days. If you live in a residence hall that has a communal bathroom, you will be moved to a quarantine space in a house or apartment.

Michelle Mason, assistant director of Residential Life

Students who live in a space that has a private bathroom such as a TLA will be able to quarantine in place. Students who live nearby and can return home easily will be asked to return home for their quarantine. Quarantine will last a full 14 days and students will be expected to participate to the fullest extent in their classes remotely while they're in quarantine.

Various students:

We really need to keep the number of people in quarantine in isolation as low as possible. Here are some changes you can expect on campus this year.

Masks must be worn in all academic buildings, including residence halls.

However, you are able to take your mask off once you are in your room or your TLA apartment. Non-student visitors are not allowed to be in the residence halls or TLAs.

You are allowed to have up to one guest in your room, however, that guest cannot stay overnight and it's really important that you ask your roommate for permission before having guests over.

Communal kitchens in the residence halls will be shut down for this year.

Remember to follow all the precautionary guidelines, such as avoiding large gatherings, not touching your face and washing your hands off.

Be sure to have a duffel bag packed and ready to go just in case you have to move into quarantine or isolation in short notice. Together, we can get through this.

Dr. Wes Brooks, dean of students

Residential life is an important part of the Augustana student experience. By following CDC and other health organization guidelines, Augustana college will be able to resume classes and reopen the residence halls this fall. But we will only be able to do so if all of our community members adhere to those expectations and recommendations. That will allow us to be a COVID-ready campus.

We can only do that if we do it together. We are Augustana Strong.