5 Quick Things: August 26

August 26, 2020

1. Positive COVID-19 Case Rates for UTHSC and the UT System Available on Coronavirus Website

Per the Chancellor's Campus Update email on August 14, our campus is monitoring and analyzing COVID-19 conversion rates for faculty, staff, and students and reporting these to the appropriate county health office or partner institution to perform contact tracing. People with significant exposure or those testing positive for COVID-19 are self-isolated/quarantined for a period of at least 10-14 days. University Health Services assesses each case and makes recommendations for discontinuation of isolation based upon individual risk factors and CDC guidelines. The conversion rates are reported to the UT System and all other appropriate government agencies. These campus and System COVID-19 conversion rates are now available on our UTHSC Coronavirus website and will be updated weekly:

UTHSC COVID-19 Positive Cases:
https://uthsc.edu/coronavirus/campus-updates/documents/uthsc-covid19-cases.pdf
UT System COVID-19 Positive Cases:
https://uthsc.edu/coronavirus/campus-updates/documents/ut-system-covid19-cases.pdf

2. Wear a Mask at All Times While on Campus

Make sure your face mask covers your nose and mouth. Wash your hands prior to handling the mask and do not touch the portion of the mask that contacts your face. Always wash your hands after touching or removing your mask.

3. Stay Home If You Have Chills, Fever, Headache, or Shortness of Breath

Perform a self-check for COVID-19 symptoms daily before coming to campus at selfcheck.tennessee.edu. Employees who test positive should report their diagnosis to HR via the UTHSC Employee COVID-19 Notice Form.

4. Maintain a Social Distance of at LEAST Six Feet From Others

Reposition furniture to allocate 144 sq. ft. per person. Alternate work schedules should be considered for employees. Face-to-face meetings or gatherings with more than 10 people in attendance are prohibited – use Zoom or Teams instead.

5. COVID-19 Testing Available on Memphis Campus

A COVID-19 testing site has been set up on the Memphis campus in the Student-Alumni Center (SAC) gymnasium at 800 Madison Ave. The gymnasium is located on the backside of the SAC and patients should enter via the breezeway, and not through the front door of the SAC.

The SAC testing site is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 12:00 – 4:00 pm and Saturdays 1:00 – 3:00 pm with no appointment necessary for faculty, staff, and students. Spouses, family members, and friends of UTHSC faculty, staff, and students cannot be tested at the SAC location and should go to a community testing site operated by University Clinical Health (UCH). The SAC testing site is closed on holidays.

The SAC testing site is for those who are asymptomatic (no symptoms) and have had no known exposure to COVID-19.

Those with symptoms or who may have been exposed to COVID-19 will be referred to a UCH mobile testing site by texting “COVID” to 901.203.5526. Test results will take about 48 hours to be returned to the patient.