As the United States is seeing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with Covid-19 and because we have more tools to combat flu, Covid, and RSV, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the CDC have updated their guidelines for Covid-19, flu and RSV.
As part of the guidance, the CDC provides active recommendations on core prevention steps and strategies:
The new CDC guidance no longer requires that those who test positive for Covid-19 isolate for a minimum of five days before returning to activities or work and, instead, focus on isolation until symptoms improve. The key recommendation for those with any seasonal respiratory virus is to stay home and away from others until their symptoms subside.
The guidance suggests people can return to normal activities when symptoms have been improving for 24 hours and a fever, if one was present, has been gone for 24 hours without use of a fever-reducing medication.
In addition, once people resume normal activities, they are encouraged to take precautions for the next five days to curb disease spread, including:
At-home Covid tests are still available at Health Services for students (maximum one test per week) and available for purchase at the C-store and the wellness vending machine located in Seymour Union. Faculty and staff should contact their health care provider for testing or purchase a home test from a local pharmacy.
Knox College strongly encourages all students, faculty and staff to be fully up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations and annual flu shots, including booster doses when eligible.
Always be respectful of those who choose to wear masks to protect themselves or others.
https://www.knox.edu/knoxtogether
Printed on Tuesday, December 24, 2024