COVID-19 If/Then: What happens if a student tests positive?
The College has put together a new series of “If/Then” scenario walkthroughs to help our community better understand pandemic practices and protocols.
Use this link for more “COVID-19 If/Then” scenarios from SUNY New Paltz.
If a student tests positive for COVID-19 …
Then the student should … Report the positive test result to the Student Health Service. If the test was conducted on campus, the Student Health Service will be notified of the result automatically. If it was conducted off campus, the student is responsible for notifying the Student Health Service.
Then the College will … Direct students who test positive (whether vaccinated or unvaccinated) to isolate for 5 complete days, where Day 1 is the first day AFTER your symptoms started or you tested positive, per new CDC guidance released on Dec. 27, 2021.
After isolating for 5 days, you will be released from isolation if you are fever-free and other symptoms have approved. If your fever continues, please remain in isolation until your fever has resolved for 24 hours (without use of fever-reducing medications).
After being released from isolation, you must continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days, per the new CDC guidance. Please also follow any other directives from your physician.
Students who live on-campus will have the option of isolating in Awosting Hall, where they will be provided with a refrigerator/microwave, food, support, wellness checks, and laundry and trash services.
Students who live off campus should remain off campus and isolate in place with no social contact for the duration of their isolation.
The College will initiate contact tracing to interview COVID-19-positive students about where they have been and with whom they have been in contact. More information about our Contact Tracing process is available here.
The Student Health Service will notify the student’s in-person course instructors about their positive result, so that the student will not be penalized for missed classes during their isolation. This communication is not for contact tracing purposes. If sufficient exposure warrants contact tracing, a separate notice will be made to unvaccinated individuals only.
There is no need to cancel or change the modality of a class or close an office in response to a positive case notification. The College conducts daily cleaning of classrooms and high-touch points (like hallways, bathrooms, light switches and door handles), and weekly cleaning of all other interior campus spaces, in addition to targeted cleaning of specific areas as needed.