Frequently Asked Questions Related to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and the University

Compliance with the current NC Executive Order requires face masks be worn by all individuals regardless of vaccination status in health care settings (Student Health, vaccine and testing sites, etc.) and while using public transportation.

• If you are not vaccinated, continue to wear your face covering when in close contact with others regardless of the setting. 
• Face coverings are required within indoor instructional spaces such as classrooms and teaching laboratories and state-owned vehicles occupied by two or more people.
• Students in residential housing are not required to wear a mask while in their assigned residence hall room but must wear a face mask while in residence hall lobbies, hallways, elevators and other common areas.
• Face coverings are not required for fully vaccinated individuals within non-instructional spaces (offices, cafeteria, etc.) and outdoors.

Anyone who feels safer or more comfortable wearing a face covering on campus should continue to do so.

Additional or replacement masks for students can be obtained via Student Health Services. All employees working on campus can obtain a five-day supply of cloth masks that can be laundered at home and maintained for an extended period of time.

Yes – it is important that all Eagles take a moment each morning to think about their health status before coming on campus to ensure that they feel well and are healthy enough to come on campus and not put others at risk.

Students

https://secure.medproctor.com/saml/sso?token=5438722f-16b1-4052-b918-baacbdb8741c

Voluntary upload of a COVID-19 vaccine card to the MedProctor designating a person as fully vaccinated will allow personnel to be considered a vaccinated individual for the purposes of testing, face covering, quarantine/isolation, travel, etc. 

Anyone who feels safer or more comfortable wearing a face covering on campus should continue to do so.  Occupants should maximize space between workstations as feasible.  Plexiglass shields are also available using the COVID-19 Supply Order Form.

ADA accommodations or other workplace supports should be coordinated with supervisors and the Employee Relations and Affirmative Action Office in the Office of Human Resources (919-530-5144)

For students, the Counseling Services team is available for virtual consultations. Please visit the Counseling Center website for more details.

Faculty and staff can utilize the Employee Assistance Program.

NCCU will provide onsite testing only to faculty and staff who experience an occupational exposure as follows:   

1. NCCU employees identified through contact tracing as a close contact of an employee, student, or campus visitor with a confirmed case of COVID‐19 during their infectious period.
2. Risk assessment determines that persons who work in the same area, for example in the same common office or area, as a person with confirmed COVID-19 during their infectious period.  Risk assessment takes into account layout and size of the room, design and implementation of engineering controls, adherence to administrative controls, and movement and timing of persons within the area.
3. Other situations where a NCCU employee is deemed to have exposure risk based on on-campus contact with a COVID-19 positive person. 

Employees with occupational exposure will be offered testing and contact tracing through Apex Solutions. The fee for testing will be billed to the employee insurance.

There are a number of COVID-19 testing sites locally where persons who do not qualify for on-campus testing can receive a COVID-19 test. The Find My Testing Place site is a useful tool.   

Isolation separates ill persons who have a communicable disease from those who are healthy. Isolation restricts the movement of ill persons to help stop the transmission of certain diseases.

Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of well persons who may have been exposed to a communicable disease to see if they become ill through close contact or other means.

Close contact is defined by the CDC as:

• Being within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
• Providing care in a non-healthcare setting to someone who is sick with COVID-19.
• Direct physical contact with the person (touched, hugged, or kissed them)
• Sharing eating or drinking utensils.
• A person with COVID-19 sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on the other person.

• People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 excluding people who have had COVID-19 within the past three months or who have been fully vaccinated for a minimum of 14 days.
• People who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past three months and develop new symptoms of COVID-19 if no other cause can be identified for their symptoms.
• Anyone who is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test due to symptoms or close contact exposure.
• Fully vaccinated students are not required to quarantine after exposure if the following criteria are met:
  • Fully vaccinated (14 days after the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or 14 days after Johnson and Johnson/Janssen).
  • While not required to quarantine, vaccinated individuals must still:
    • Monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
    • Follow all other guidance including face coverings, hand washing, and social distancing.
    • Immediately self-isolate if any symptoms develop and report to [email protected].

Employees

Symptomatic faculty and staff will be quarantined until all of the following apply:

• It has been at least 10 days since symptoms began.
• You have not had a fever or used fever-reducing medication for 24 hours 
• Other symptoms have improved (such as coughing and shortness of breath).

If you have a positive test but do not develop symptoms, you will remain in isolation until 10 days have passed since the date of your first positive COVID-19 test.

It is critical that all employees remember to report COVID symptoms, isolation or quarantine to the NCCU COVID-19 line at 919-530-3219 option 2.

Students

Students who are identified as a close contact of a person who tests positive for or exhibits signs and symptoms of COVID-19 are immediately quarantined for 14 days. Fully vaccinated students are not required to quarantine unless symptomatic. Students are notified by COVID Team or Student Health when they are cleared to return to campus activities and/or their assigned residence hall. 

Residential students who need isolation/quarantine are housed in a designated, on-campus residential facility.  Residential students may request to return home for their quarantine and isolation period, if possible.  Students residing in quarantine/isolation space receive food deliveries, supplies, daily welfare and health checks and symptom monitoring. Non-residential students will be sent to quarantine and isolate themselves in their own homes.  

The Office of Student Accessibility Services notifies instructors when students will not be present in class and helps arrange for online coursework. 

Should students break their quarantine or isolation or otherwise fail to comply with quarantine/isolation directives, they will be subject to disciplinary action under the Student Code of Conduct.

Numbers of student, faculty, staff, and contractor confirmed COVID-19 cases are updated on the NCCU COVID-19 website weekly.

You can report through the required daily health survey in the myEOL banner that you take before coming on campus each day. 

Additionally, you can contact 919-530-3219 and select the appropriate option (2 for faculty and staff; 3 for students) to be transferred to the appropriate group to assist you.

Visitors to campus who are required to be onsite to complete work, attend an interview or meeting or have some other business need (not including visits to students in residence halls — see below) are subjected to the same daily health survey as employees and students.  If you are scheduling one of these persons to be on campus, it is your responsibility to send them the Visitor Survey link prior to their visit and assure that you receive the clearance email once they have completed the survey.

To visit a student living in a NCCU residence hall, you must first complete the Residential Life Visitation Request Form.  If approved in advance by the Office of Residential Life, you will need to complete the COVID-19 Visitor Screening Form on the day of your approved visit.

As COVID-19 conditions continue to improve, restrictions on university related domestic travel previously issued by the UNC System Office have been rescinded. University personnel should continue to follow the latest CDC guidance on domestic travel. You can check travel requirements by zip code for US destinations to become aware of testing and quarantine requirements for each location.

Due to the severity of COVID-19 conditions in some international destinations, foreign travel remains restricted to travel approved by the Chancellor upon determination that the foreign travel is essential for academic research or university business. In the limited instances where foreign travel is approved, university personnel should continue to follow the latest CDC guidance on international travel. 

All exceptions for faculty and researchers to travel internationally on university business must be pre-approved by the Chancellor with a favorable recommendation from the appropriate academic Dean or Director of an Institute or Center.  

All exceptions for administrative staff and athletics events to travel internationally must be pre-approved by the Chancellor with a favorable recommendation from an appropriate Vice Chancellor or the Athletics Director. For athletic events, relevant guidance issued by the NCAA and MEAC are considered.  

All exceptions for students and student organizations to travel internationally on university business or to satisfy academic requirements must be pre-approved by the Chancellor with a recommendation from the Office of Student Affairs.  

International travel that may qualify for an exception include:  

• Travel intended to assist in the assessment of, treatment for, or research relating to, COVID-19 or other critical health care issues.  
• Travel relating to the University’s legal, risk management, or emergency response efforts relating to COVID-19.  
• Travel required to assure the continued operations of the University in response to COVID-19.  
• Travel that is necessary and time-sensitive to preserve the safety of a research subject or the results of a substantial and ongoing research activity.  
• Travel that is required to complete a grant or award requirement or deliverable for which the failure to perform will substantially jeopardize the continuation of grant or award.  
• Travel to appear in any legal, judicial, or regulatory proceeding on behalf of the University as a party, a witness, or as necessary to assist the University in the proceeding.  
• Travel that is necessary to meet a requirement for graduation this semester, that cannot otherwise be postponed, and for which the failure to travel could result in the failure to receive a degree at the end of the semester.  
• Travel that is part of a University sponsored academic or athletic program that has been pre-approved by the Chancellor and subject to any necessary or appropriate requirements or conditions.  

Instructional spaces are spaces in which classes are held. In doing a thorough risk assessment, it was determined that in-person classes allow for large numbers of people in an indoor space with minimal distancing for an extended period of time, and this would increase risk. Non-instructional spaces include research laboratories, offices, the library, and dining areas.