Important Changes to Quarantine/Isolation Guidance, Town Hall Forum, Mask Requirement

SHARE

Dear Members of the UNH Durham Community—

Please read this email in its entirety.

  • Arrival testing is required for everyone; pre-arrival testing is recommended. Please follow the guidance provided by your campus.  
  • Masks are required in all indoor campus spaces. Members of the university community can report violations here. Avoid using single-layer cloth masks if possible.
  • Upload proof of vaccination/booster if you haven’t already done so.
  • A virtual Town Hall forum to share information and answer questions will be held Thursday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. https://unh.zoom.us/j/95473379690 or telephone: 1 646 876 9923  Webinar ID: 954 7337 9690

Changes to Isolation and Quarantine

UNH is adopting revised Centers for Disease Control and NH Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) recommendations effective immediately. If you test positive or are identified as a household close contact requiring quarantine please review the guidance in its entirety. Changes include, but are not limited to:

  • Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19—regardless of vaccination status—can end isolation after day five (beginning day six or later) if they are fever free for at least 24 hours and their symptoms are improving.
    • ALL STUDENTS (undergraduate and graduate) must also have a negative rapid/antigen test; isolation continues until day 10 if the requirements are not met. Students must complete the online attestation form to reactivate their Wildcat Pass.
    • At this time the university will not be providing rapid/antigen tests; Health & Wellness is not able to provide rapid/antigen tests for the purpose of ending isolation early and the COVID Lab also cannot be used to test out of isolation.
  • Anyone who is unvaccinated or who is not up to date on receiving all recommended vaccine doses (this includes a booster) must quarantine if they are exposed to a household member with COVID-19 (Household Close Contact). Upload proof of booster if you have it.
    • A Household Close Contact (HCC) is defined by NH DHHS as any individual who lives and sleeps in the same indoor shared space as another person diagnosed with COVID-19 (either a temporary or permanent living arrangement), leading to close contact and potential repeated exposure to the person with COVID-19.

Durham Regular COVID-19 (All Semester) Testing

  • If you have not uploaded a vaccine card: two times a week for students, once a week for employees and contractors.
  • If you have uploaded your vaccine card and it is approved: once every other week or more frequently on a voluntary basis.
  • IMPORTANT CHANGE: If you have symptoms don’t wait to test. DO NOT use the drop boxes if you have symptoms; make an appointment at Health & Wellness for evaluation and testing. Your regular testing schedule—shown in Wildcat Pass—will automatically adjust to the appropriate next due date after your last test.

Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our university community safe.

Paul Dean
Chief of Police /Associate VP for Public Safety and Risk Management and Co-Chair of UNH Testing and Tracing Committee

Peter Degnan, MD
Medical Director, Health & Wellness
 

Marian McCord
Senior Vice Provost for Research, Economic Engagement and Outreach; and Co-Chair of UNH Testing and Tracing Committee