COVID-19
While we are out of the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, frequently circulates in our community and continues to cause significant disease and even death across the United States and abroad
With students, faculty, and staff back on campus, we can best preserve our collective health and academic focus by continuing to use the preventive tools we have practiced during the last few years to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and other transmissible diseases. The key, as always, is staying healthy through good food, sleep, stress reduction, and exercise; practicing good self-care and hand/respiratory hygiene; getting any recommended vaccines; and seeking medical care in a timely manner when needed.
At the same time, we are now at a different point in time, with reduced impacts from COVID-19 compared to prior years due to broad immunity from vaccination and/or natural infection, and readily available treatments for infected people. Priorities for intervention are now focused on protecting those most at risk for serious illness while reducing social disruption that is disproportionate to recommendations for the prevention of other endemic respiratory viral infections.
Symptoms of COVID-19
- Symptoms range from none (“asymptomatic”) to severe illness and death; this may depend on strain, SARS-specific immunity, and/or underlying health conditions, but details are poorly understood.
- Usual symptoms are mild and nonspecific and may include nasal congestion, scratchy throat, fatigue, fever, headache, cough, and/or mild stomach upset.
- More severe symptoms may include shortness of breath, chest pain, or dizziness.
- Symptoms may sometimes recur after initial recovery, which correlates with infectiousness (“COVID rebound”), whether it was treated or not.
- For more information, see: CDC COVID-19 Symptoms.
When to seek medical help
- People who have symptoms should stay home, wear a mask, and get tested.
- People who are at high risk for severe COVID (e.g. immunocompromised, chronic heart/lung disease) should contact their healthcare provider ASAP for consideration of antiviral treatment.
- Mild symptoms can be managed like any other respiratory illness; over-the-counter medications may help you feel a little better, but sleep and hydration are most important for recovery.
- See your primary care clinician or seek care in a local urgent care if you experience more severe or prolonged symptoms, such as fever (>100.4F) lasting more than 72 hours, cough keeping you awake at night, or mild shortness of breath.
- People with severe symptoms such as struggling to breathe should call 911.
- Students can call the UHS Nurse Advice Line at (510) 643-7197 for guidance.
Masking guidance
There are no masking requirements on campus or in the community at this time, however well-fitting high-quality masks may still be a good idea in certain situations, whether to protect yourself or others. These include:
- When you are ill with COVID-19 or any respiratory virus
- When you have recently been exposed to COVID-19 and are visiting someone who is immunocompromised, elderly, or otherwise at high risk for severe disease
- If you are yourself at high risk for severe disease and you are in a crowded indoor public setting
- For protection against wildfire smoke or other contaminants
For more information regarding respiratory viruses and masks, see the CDC links:
Tracking cases
We are unable to track cases across campus as closely as we did in previous years; public health jurisdictions are no longer routinely doing contact investigations in most settings, including ours, and many cases are not being reported and tracked, due in part to the move to at-home antigen testing.
Instead, we keep in close communication with our local public health authority in tracking community epidemiology and adjusting our response accordingly. Wastewater data(link is external) and hospitalization levels(link is external) are two indicators that are tracked locally and can help identify upward trends in the spread of the virus.
If you think you have been exposed or are a close contact, you can take an over-the-counter rapid antigen test 3-5 days after exposure. Symptomatic students should wear a mask, get tested, and stay home. Stay well, Bears!