Student Isolation Protocols and Safety Precautions

Regardless of your vaccination status, you are required to self-isolate if you have tested positive for COVID-19.

Students in on-campus housing will self-isolate in designated space in campus facilities. A dedicated team of staff will serve as liaisons to students in these spaces, coordinating move-in and move-out as well as assisting with other needs that arise.

Students who do not live in on-campus housing will be required to self-isolate in their off-campus housing or another location. The University  will not provide housing or dining for those purposes.

Isolation means staying in your home or assigned on-campus isolation housing — not going to work, classes, athletic events or other social gatherings. People who are in isolation should stay home until it’s safe for them to be around others. In the home, anyone sick or infected should separate themselves from others by staying in a specific “sick room” or area and using a separate bathroom (if available).

If you are in self-isolation, you need to stay home (except to get medical care) and:

• Monitor your symptoms. If you have an emergency warning sign (including trouble breathing), seek emergency medical care immediately.
• Stay in a separate room from other household members
• Use a separate bathroom
• Avoid contact with other members of the household and pets.
• Avoid sharing personal household items, like cups, towels, and utensils.

If you test positive for COVID-19, you are required to isolate for a minimum of five full days from the date your first positive test was conducted.  You can end isolation after Day 5, provided your symptoms have resolved or are improving and any fever has been resolved for at least 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication. Do not end isolation until you have received a clearance notification from the COVID-19 Response Team.

• The University defines Day 0 is defined as the date that your first positive test was conducted. If you tested positive outside of a Northwestern testing site, you must report your positive test result.
• Beginning on Day 5, you will receive a daily survey to evaluate your current health and isolation status.
• By filling out the survey, you are attesting to your current health status.
  • If your symptoms have resolved or are improving, and any fever has been resolved for at least 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication, you will be cleared to end isolation at midnight on the day the survey is completed.
  • If your symptoms are not improving, you must remain in isolation until you have met the above criteria or have completed 10 full days of isolation.
• Once cleared, you may resume normal activities while observing additional safety precautions. An email with additional information and guidance will be sent to you upon clearance from isolation.

Regardless of your vaccination status, you are not required to quarantine if you have been exposed to COVID-19. You should take the following precautions as soon as you find out you were exposed, and continue these precautions for 10 full days after your last exposure:

• Wear a high-quality mask or respirator (e.g. N95) any time you are around others inside your home or indoors in public.
• Do not go places where you are unable to wear a mask, including travel and public transportation settings.
• Take a COVID-19 test at least five full days after your exposure, even if you don’t develop symptoms.
• Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.
• Take extra precautions if you will be around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

You can obtain a test at the Jacobs Center in Evanston. Students who require symptomatic testing in Chicago should contact Northwestern Medicine Student Health Service. Before visiting a testing location, please confirm the current hours of operation. If you test positive through one of Northwestern’s testing sites, you do not need to contact the COVID-19 Response Team as your results will automatically route to them.

If you begin to experience new symptoms following an exposure to COVID-19, obtain a test and self-isolate until you know the result. Symptomatic testing is available at the Jacobs Center in Evanston. Students who require symptomatic testing in Chicago should contact Northwestern Medicine Student Health Service. Before visiting a testing location, please confirm the current hours of operation. If you test positive through one of Northwestern’s testing sites, you do not need to contact the COVID-19 Response Team since your results will automatically route to them.

If you test negative at least 5 full days after your last exposure to COVID-19, continue taking precautions through day 10. You can still develop COVID-19 up to 10 days after you have been exposed. If you begin to experience new symptoms, please re-test.