What to Expect for the Fall Semester
Cal Poly Humboldt continues to implement prevention strategies to minimize the spread of COVID-19 to the extent practicable. There are many options for post-infection therapeutics, and vaccination continues to have the strongest impact on preventing serious illness if infection does occur.
As we move further into the endemic stage of the disease, we anticipate seeing drops in case numbers as well as significant spikes. During those spikes we will continue to encourage individuals to protect themselves utilizing N95 rated masks.
The University will continue to monitor the evolving situation, consult with public health agencies, and be ready to pivot if needed. The main drivers for a pivot in policy would include strains on our healthcare system due to a significant spike in cases or a variant that has a much higher severity of illness.
Please visit campusready.humboldt.edu for more information about the campus response to COVID-19.
Vaccinations
Faculty, staff, and students who are accessing campus facilities are required to be immunized against COVID-19 or be approved for an exemption.
Free vaccines are available to all students. Contact Student Health & Wellbeing Services at health@humboldt.edu.
Any student, staff, or faculty member who is eligible must have received at least one COVID-19 booster to be considered fully vaccinated. Visit My Turn California to find booster availability near you.
Learn how to submit your vaccination status, apply for an exemption and other information.
Visitors and guests to campus must be either fully vaccinated or have tested negative within 72 hours of coming to campus.
Wellness Self Checks
Each day before coming to campus, everyone is required to do a wellness self-check. Taking your own temperature is not necessary unless required by your position or activity on campus—but if you feel feverish, verifying that is helpful as the CDC considers any temperature over 100.4 F to be indicative of illness.
Those who have symptoms of COVID-19, even if vaccinated, should stay home and not come to campus unless they are getting a rapid antigen test.
Learn more about symptoms and what to do if you fail a wellness self check.
COVID-19 Testing
Rapid antigen testing kits are available for at no cost to Humboldt staff, faculty, and students at various locations on campus for individuals who are symptomatic or have been identified as a direct contact.
Bring your Humboldt ID to pick up your rapid antigen test as needed from the Student Health Center (students) or the Parking Kiosk (employees).
They are also available for purchase in vending machines on campus at the College Creek Mailroom, the Housing Office on the 3rd floor of the Jolly Giant Commons, on the 1st floor of Nelson Hall East, and in The Campus Store Textbook Warehouse at the former bookstore location on the 3rd floor of the Gutswurrak Student Activities Center.
Employees wanting to test out of isolation on or after day 5 may pick up a test at the Parking Kiosk or email Risk-Managment@humboldt.edu to request someone meet you outside Student Business Services with one. Please do not enter any buildings.
PCR tests are recommended for people who were identified as a direct contact and are better for early detection of the virus among asymptomatic individuals. They should not be used for determining if one can leave isolation.
PCR tests are available for students who qualify on a case-by-case basis through the Student Health Center.
Employees who prefer a PCR test may register for COVID-19 testing through Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services. Many local drug stores also provide testing.
What to Do if You Test Positive
Symptomatic students, staff, and faculty should be tested as soon as possible. Anyone who tests positive should complete this form as soon as you receive your test result.
Stay home (PDF) for at least 5 days, using the day of positive test as day 0 (you may also use the first full day symptoms became the most severe as day 0).
Isolation can end after day 5 (no earlier than day 6) if symptoms are not present or are resolving and you have a negative antigen test result on or after day 5.
If unable to test or choosing not to test, and symptoms are not present or are resolving, isolation can end after day 10.
If fever is present, isolation should be continued until fever resolves.
If symptoms, other than fever, are not resolving, continue to isolate until symptoms are resolving or until after day 10.
Wear a well-fitting mask (N95 or KN95) around others for a total of 10 days, especially in indoor settings (see section below on masking for additional information)
Cal Poly Humboldt will soon begin using a dashboard system to inform the campus of all positive cases, which employees will be expected to review to determine if they have been in a shared workspace with a positive case. Union representatives are also expected to use this dashboard as their means of determining if employees in their unit have had potential exposures.
Once the dashboard is implemented, the University will no longer be sending notifications to specific individuals that they are identified as a direct contact or sending potential exposure notices. If you test positive, you are expected to notify all employees that you have been in close contact with while at work (15 minutes or more in a shared indoor airspace).
More information to come about the dashboard.
What to Do if You are Exposed to COVID-19
Regardless of vaccination status, if you have direct contact (15 minutes or more in a shared indoor airspace) with a person who tests positive for COVID-19, you may come to work if you take the following precautions:
Wear a well-fitting mask (N95 or KN95) anytime you are around others inside your home or indoors at work/in public for 10 days using the date of the last exposure as day 0.
Monitor for symptoms and practice social distancing.
Test on day 5 and again 48 hrs later—you must have two negative tests within 48 hrs.
If symptoms develop before day 5, immediately quarantine and test.
High risk exposures, such as a spouse or child testing positive are more likely to result in infection, in this instance, working from home for 5 days until testing (if operationally feasible) is recommended, though not required.
Face Masks
With some exceptions, wearing masks on campus is not required. The University encourages wearing masks to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Wearing a mask is still required in certain spaces.
Although N95 masks are currently proven to be the most effective against the spread of COVID-19 and its variants, they are not mandated.
Wearing masks will still be required in the following circumstances:
In medical and clinical spaces, including the Student Health & Counseling building and Behavioral & Social Sciences 208
In the athletics training room, and any time student-athletes are receiving athletic training services