Some more Q&A

The COVID dashboard had some good news in fewer positive cases today; may that trend continue. Since I have been in nearly nonstop meetings, want to share a few of the questions we are getting in the Call Center in hope that it will be helpful to other families who have the same question:

My student believes there are positive students living in their hall/suite/apartment (or who have symptoms and are not reporting them) – what is Wake doing about it?

Approximately 100 students who have not tested positive nor experienced symptoms, but may have come into contact with someone with COVID-19, have been asked to quarantine in their single residence hall room (i.e., quarantine in place). Less than two dozen students in the same situation have been moved out of a double room and into an empty room to quarantine. All of these students have been given explicit instructions to limit contact with others.

We are doing asymptomatic testing of ALL undergraduate students this week and next (unless they have been positive within the past 90 days, are currently in quarantine or isolation at a COVID hotel, a student athlete who is being tested as required for competition in their sport, or has an exemption that would come due to a disability or injury, etc.). Even students quarantining in place must do this asymptomatic testing as long as they are not feeling sick/symptomatic (and then they are to get tested by the Student Health Service). My understanding is that if a student doesn’t show up for a scheduled testing appointment, their compliance is monitored and they are reported to the Dean of Students. 

For all tests that Wake Forest does that turn up positive (or for any students who get their own off campus and report a positive to us via traceshs@wfu.edu), the goal is to get them in isolation as soon as possible. That is normally done in a matter of hours. If a student tests positive on their own (say off campus at a CVS) and doesn’t report it to us, we do not know to move them to the hotel. This is a violation of the student code of conduct. 

If your student believes there is a positive/symptomatic person in their midst who is not reporting their illness/positive test results, they can provide any information (names, dorm room #s, other details), to our COVID compliance form. 

Our goal is to get any positive students the medical care they need as soon as possible and to help keep other students safe. We continue to stress to students the importance of doing the right thing (whether that is contact tracing honesty, mask adherence, etc.), and we are grateful for concerned families who also stress these expectations.

My student had COVID within the last 90 days but just got a message to quarantine in place (QIP). This message asking them to quarantine in place doesn’t apply to them, does it? 

When we get a new positive test on a student, we need to identify their contacts as quickly as possible. Each positive case could have 2-6 (or more) close contacts (roommates, suitemates, romantic partners, etc.). It would take us a long time to look up each close contact’s COVID history first to make sure they didn’t have a positive test within the last 90 days and remove them from contact tracing. So in order to get our students in quarantine as soon as possible, we send all close contacts the message to quarantine in place. 

If students have had a positive COVID test within the last 90 days and were asked to quarantine in place, have them call the Call Center so we can take their name/student ID and verify their past result with the Student Health Service. They should remain masked and away from others while we get this verification. 

While the CDC reports that reinfection within 90 days of illness with COVID-19 is rare, students should also continue to monitor for symptoms for 14 days and seek medical evaluation as soon as possible if symptoms do develop, particularly after an exposure.

My student got a message to quarantine in place, then got another message saying they need to isolate. Which do they follow?

We have seen this a couple of times today where a student gets both messages. Those are not in error. Here’s an example:

Student X was identified as a close contact of Student Y who tested positive through our asymptomatic testing. Student X gets the message to quarantine in place.

A few minutes later, Student X’s own asymptomatic test result comes back positive, so they get a message saying they need to isolate.

This makes sense if you think about it. If Students X and Y have been close contacts of each other, it is not unusual that if one tests positive, the other could too. Any time a student gets an isolation message, that takes precedence over a quarantine message and they must isolate as requested. 

We know you have questions, so we will keep the Call Center open through Sunday between hours of 10 am-5 pm Eastern (336-758-7500). If it is busy, leave a message or try again in a few minutes.

As we hopefully move past this surge, I will bring back more “regular” content. Bear with me in the interim, friends. For now, I want to wish a happy lunar new year to our families in China who are celebrating. May you have a healthy and prosperous year!

— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)