The Tompkins County Health Department (TCHD) has identified a new positive COVID-19 case in an individual who has accessed the Ithaca College campus. The individual is in isolation and receiving proper care. Due to privacy laws, neither the TCHD nor Ithaca College are able to disclose the name or other identifying information about this person.
The health department has completed its contact tracing and has been in touch with all contacts of this person who may have been exposed to the virus. For COVID-19, the New York State Department of Health defines a close contact as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 10 minutes starting from two days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, two days prior to positive specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
Because Ithaca College is conducting instruction remotely this fall, there are minimal numbers of students, faculty, and staff on campus. Before they can access the campus, all students and employees must complete a daily health screening. Weekly surveillance testing is also occurring. Students residing in the Ithaca community but who are not accessing the campus are also being strongly encouraged to undergo COVID-19 testing.
All members of the Ithaca College community are reminded to be vigilant about adhering to public health recommendations to wear face coverings, maintain six feet of distance, and practice good hand hygiene. Anyone who witnesses or experiences an activity or incident involving IC students or employees that raises health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic can use the Community Agreement Reporting Form to notify the college.
Ithaca College students experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should contact the Hammond Health Center at 607-274-3177. Faculty or staff who are experiencing symptoms should seek care from their health care provider. If you are symptomatic, please register to seek testing from the Cayuga Health System sampling site at the Shops at Ithaca Mall.
Ithaca College’s Return to Campus website has information related to health and safety practices. The website also includes the college’s COVID-19 tracking dashboard, which is updated daily Monday-Friday as new test data becomes available. The Tompkins County Health Department website has additional information on COVID-19 public health practices.
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, otherwise known as the “Clery Act,” requires Ithaca College to immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students, faculty and staff occurring on or near campus through the initiation of the emergency notification system.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20201001180407129