Dooley sent the following message to the Elon campus community on Friday, May 29.
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
The university has been informed of a laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in an undergraduate student living on-campus. The individual has been in isolation and staff in the Student Health Services and the Office of the Dean of Students are supporting the student, working with the Alamance County Health Department on contact tracing, and will be supporting any students, faculty, or staff who may have been in close contact with the student.
This case also presents us an opportunity to let you know how the university will share information about laboratory-confirmed cases moving forward, especially as testing becomes more readily available and the number of positive cases in our community is expected to increase.
Students who are concerned about possible symptoms of COVID-19 or who have received a laboratory-confirmed positive diagnosis are asked to contact Student Health Services at 336-278-7230. Faculty or staff are asked to contact the Faculty/Staff Wellness Clinic at 336-278-5569. The university will work to support the needs of that individual, which in the case of the student may include assistance with arrangements for classes, housing and meals for on-campus residents, and plans for short- and long-term support as needed.
In addition to supporting the individual affected, the university will also work with the local health department to provide relevant information to assist with contact tracing. That effort by the health department may include outreach to: close personal contacts identified by the confirmed positive individual; those in close housing proximity (roommate, suitemates or those who may share a bathroom); classmates, university staff, and faculty members with whom the individual may have come in contact for sustained periods while contagious; etc. These individuals may be given information about self-monitoring, self-isolation, and/or recommended testing, depending upon the unique circumstances.
In the interest of transparency, over the summer we will be establishing a university web dashboard that will report all laboratory-confirmed positive cases that we are notified about among students, faculty or staff who have been on-campus during the possible time of contagion. Keep in mind, confidentiality laws prevent the university from disclosing the identity and personal health information of students, faculty and staff and the university will only be able to report the laboratory-confirmed cases that have been officially reported to Student Health Services or Faculty/Staff Wellness.
We will have a link to this web page as well as more information about screening, mitigation, and containment strategies for COVID-19 when the university announces plans for the Fall 2020 semester on Monday, June 8. Until that time, for detailed information about the university response to the coronavirus pandemic, please visit the coronavirus website, https://www.elon.edu/coronavirus.
My best wishes for a safe and healthy summer as we prepare for the fall semester on campus.
—
Dr. Jon Dooley
Vice President for Student Life