[Teaching-Faculty] Additional Questions about COVID and Teaching answered

[Office of the Provost/VPAA]

Hello Colleagues,

We are almost through two full weeks of our Fall 2021 semester.
Congratulations! :)

Two new questions from yesterday.

*Question: *

Recognizing that it might take some time, if a student tests positive,
their instructors and the students in their courses should be contacted as
part of contact tracing, correct?

*Answer:*

Not necessarily.  The Clinton County Health Department initiates and
manages all of the contract tracing once they have a report of a positive
test result.  There is no single uniform answer about whom they will
contact.  Often, the contact tracers will contact the faculty member.  They
will often want to know if a particular student was in class on a given
day, or what types of activities went on in the class (movement, seating,
etc.).  The students are not typically notified as a group, but individual
students may be contacted because of responses to specific questions and
information shared during the contact tracing process.  Note: If you were
teaching on our campus last year, you will recall that attendance taking is
important to be able to respond accurately to questions asked of faculty by
the contact tracers.  Please try to keep accurate attendance records.

*Question:*

If a student tells an instructor that they tested positive, or there is a
notification from Student Affairs using Cardinal Star, but the instructor
has not been contact traced, can they inform the class that a peer tested
positive? If they cannot, and the instructor chooses to have class in a
more open space—say outside—and students ask questions, what should they
say?

*Answer:*

No.  Information about positive test results is private and HIPAA
protected.   A faculty member who wants to move outside to teach can do so,
as was always the case pre-pandemic.  Students often want to go outside as
well, weather permitting, as they enjoy the change in setting.  I
understand this could become awkward if students press a faculty member
about why the class has moved outside, but the policy is clear: we cannot
reveal private medical information to other students in the class.

All for now . . .
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