• 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.

Self-quarantine is defined as: individual is instructed to stay home from work/school for 14 days from most recent exposure. Avoid all social gatherings or densely populated areas, do not go to restaurants, movies, malls grocery stories, coffee shops, etc. Observe strict social distancing inside the home.

The following provides self-quarantine guidelines if you have concerns about your health based upon possible exposure through close contact or travel. Additionally, there are guidelines below for returning to work following a self-quarantine. 

Who needs to be quarantined?

• The attached risk assessment from the Two Rivers Public Health Department categorizes risk into low, medium or high levels. If you fall into the medium or high category, you are required to self-quarantine and inform Student health (unkhealth@unk.edu or call 308-865-8218 and ask for a nurse).

What does a quarantine look like?

• Stay home for 14 days from the time you left an area with widespread, ongoing community spread and practice social distancing.
• Take steps to monitor your health and practice social distancing.
  • Take your temperature with a thermometer 2X a day and monitor for fever. Watch for cough or trouble breathing.
  • Stay home and avoid contact with others. Do not go to work or school.
  • Do not take public transportation, taxis, ride-shares during the time you are practicing social distancing.
  • Avoid crowded places (shopping centers and movie theaters) and limit activities in public.
  • Keep your distance from others (about 6 feet).

How long is a quarantine?

• CDC recommends 14 days for a quarantine. Faculty/staff would return to work on day 15 if approved. On day 14, you are to call Student Health for a medical clearance. Nurses will review your temperature/symptom log and give you further instructions. If you are approved to return to work, Student Health will email your supervisor. If you continue to be symptomatic, you will not be approved to return to work. If your medical provider clears you, we ask that you contact Student health with this information as well.

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?

• 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. 
• Check-in with Student Health on or after your last day of isolation to be cleared to come back to the UNK campus.

Face masks and social distancing are part of the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s plan to safely return to in-person, on-campus instruction this fall.

UNK is requiring students, staff, faculty and visitors to wear masks that cover the nose and mouth in all public and shared spaces on campus during Phases I and II of the operating plan.

This includes classrooms regardless of spacing of individuals, offices where people work within six feet of each other, common areas, restrooms, elevators, outdoor spaces when separation is not possible, and University-provided group or mass transit.

In situations where masks are not feasible, such as athletics, music and theater, other protective measures will be implemented. These measures could include additional spacing between people and increased screening for COVID-19 symptoms.

These groups must comply with close monitoring protocols in consultation with the Public Health Center. People working in offices where individuals are six or more feet apart may doff their masks.

While lecturing, instructors must maintain a 16-foot distance from all students in rooms where possible. Additionally, they will a) wear a mask, b) stay behind a plexiglass shield if installed in the room, or c) wear a face shield. When 16 feet distance is not possible, instructors must wear a mask.

Faculty should be cognizant of students who need to see the speaker’s mouth to understand speech and should wear a mask with a clear plastic mouth covering if that is indicated.