• Self-monitoring for symptoms means remaining diligent about changes in your health and contacting our Public Health Center if you begin to notice symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, loss of taste or smell)
• All are encouraged to self-monitor for and report symptoms through our Campus Clear app. This is a simple tool to track symptoms and report any changes in your health. You can find the app in the Apple app store, Google play or through the web for the PC.
• Stay home if you are sick or if you have been exposed to someone known to have COVID-19.
• Wash hands frequently and for 20 seconds or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
• Wear a mask at all times or if 6ft of social distance is not possible.
• Practice social distancing by maintaining 6 feet or distance or more from others.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces regularly.
• Check in with family regularly on their health. Before considering going home to visit family, inquire about any changes in the health of immediate family. If family members are sick, consider remaining on campus and visiting by teleconference.

The Student Health clinic is available to students who wish to check their temperature. There will be 50 sites available at conveniently located areas on campus for students to check temperatures throughout the day.

If you notice changes in your health, to include the onset of a fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat or loss of taste or smell, contact the Public Health Center at 308-865-8279 or call Student Health (308-865-8218) to schedule an in-person consultation or by appointment through telemedicine.

If you believe you have been exposed, you can contact your health care provider or the Public Health Center. Close contact exposure occurs when an individual was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic individuals, 2 days prior to a positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated. As long a face masks are worn and 6 feet of physical distancing is maintained, being in the same room as someone who tests positive does not constitute a close contact.

Where can I get tested? If after contacting your health provider (or Student Health) and identifying you need to get tested for COVID -19, our Student Health medical professionals can guide you on testing options. If testing is recommended, you can obtain a test at the Student Health clinic on campus.

I’ve tested positive:

Students: Contact the Public Health Center immediately for guidance on next steps. Refrain from attending class and inform you professor/instructor that you will be out sick. You do not have to disclose that you have tested positive.  The Public Health Center will monitor you while you are sick by asking you to keep track of symptoms through this temperature log.

Faculty/Staff: Contact the Public Health Center immediately for guidance on next steps. Refrain from coming to campus. Inform your immediate supervisor that you will be out sick. The Public Health Center will monitor you while you are sick though this temperature symptom log (link).

You must obtain a medical clearance prior to returning to class or your work.

UNK is committed to stopping the spread of illness through active contact tracing. Contact tracers will be housed in the Public Health Center, collecting information on close contacts of individuals who test positive. Information provided will help us target individuals who may have been exposed and isolate those who are sick.

Call the UNK Public Health Center right away if you were told to quarantine, at 865-8279.  This office will clear you to return to the UNK campus. 

Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.  Detailed CDC recommendations for public health agencies on the duration of quarantine can be found here.

Quarantine or isolation: What's the difference?

Quarantine keeps someone who might have been exposed to the virus away from others.  Isolation keeps someone who is infected with the virus away from others, even in their home.

Who needs to quarantine?

People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19—excluding people who have had COVID-19 within the past 3 months or who are fully vaccinated.

• People who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 3 months and recovered do not have to quarantine or get tested again as long as they do not develop new symptoms.
• People who develop symptoms again within 3 months of their first bout of COVID-19 may need to be tested again if there is no other cause identified for their symptoms.
• People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 are not required to quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated against the disease and show no symptoms.

What counts as close contact?

• You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more
• You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
• You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)
• You shared eating or drinking utensils
• They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

Stay home and monitor your health

• Stay home for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19.
• Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19
• If possible, stay away from others, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19

Call the UNK Public Health Center to discuss your situation and possibly, shortened quarantine.

What is self-isolation? Self-isolation is when you have been instructed to separate sick family members from others with the purpose of preventing the spread of the virus, including those within your home. If you become ill, you should be separated from others in your household to the greatest extent possible.

How do I self-isolate?

• Call the UNK Public Health Center right away if you were told to isolate, at 865-8279.  This office will clear you to return to the UNK campus.
• Stay home:
  • Do not use public transportation, taxis or rideshares.
  • Do not go to work, school or other public places.
  • Your health care provider, Student Health or Two Rivers Public Health department will tell you when you no longer need to self-isolate.
• Limit the number of visitors in your home:
  • Only have visitors who you must see and keep visits short.
  • Keep away from seniors and people with chronic medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, lung problems,  weakened immune system).
• Avoid contact with others who may be in the home:
  • Stay in a separate room away from other people in your home as much as possible and use a separate bathroom if you have one.
  • Make sure that any shared rooms have good airflow (e.g., open windows).
• Keep distance:
  • If you are in a room with other people, keep a distance of at least 6 feet from others and wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth.
  • If you cannot wear a mask, people should wear a mask when they are in the same room as you.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes:
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
  • Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hand.
• Wash your hands:
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water.
  • Dry your hands with a paper towel, or with your own cloth towel that no one else shares.
  • Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
• Wear a mask over your nose and mouth:
  • Wear a mask if you must leave your house to see a health care provider.
• Write your temperature and any symptoms in the temperature/symptom log. 

• Students, employees and campus visitors are not required to wear masks on campus. Unvaccinated individuals should wear masks.
• All vaccinated employees and students are encouraged to wear masks indoors.
• Masks may be requested to be worn in specific situations by instructors, office managers and unit directors.