Self-Quarantine Protocols

Self-Quarantine Protocols

Use the dropdown menu below to view HPU’s Self-Quarantine Protocols. 

If you are not fully vaccinated and you learn that you have been exposed to a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19, you should begin self-quarantining immediately. Self-quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Self-quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in self-quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.

Close contact is defined as:

  • You were within about six feet of an infected individual for fifteen minutes or longer when one or both of you were not wearing a face covering
  • You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
  • You had direct physical contact with the person (touched, hugged, or kissed them)
  • You shared eating or drinking utensils
  • The infected person sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you
 

If you are not fully vaccinated, you should take the following steps after learning that you have been exposed to a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19:

  • Report your exposure immediately to the University by following the instructions included in the COVID-19 Exposure Reporting Policy
  • Stay home for ten days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19
  • Watch for fever (100.4°F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID- 19
  • If possible, stay away others (even those in your household), especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19
 

The following scenarios will help individuals better understand the length requirements of self-quarantine based on various instances of close contact:

  • Scenario #1: I had close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and will not have further contact or interactions with the person while they are sick (e.g., co-worker, neighbor, or friend).
    • Your last day of quarantine is fourteen days from the date you had close contact.
    • End of self-quarantine = Last day of close contact with person with COVID-19 + 10 Days
  • Scenario #2: I live with someone who has COVID-19 (e.g., roommate, partner, family member), and that person has isolated by staying in a separate bedroom. I have had no close contact with the person since they isolated.
    • Your last day of self-quarantine is ten days from when the person with COVID-19 began home isolation.
    • End of self-quarantine = Date person with COVID-19 began self-isolation + 10 days
  • Scenario #3: I live with someone who has COVID-19 and started my ten-day quarantine period because we had close contact. What if I ended up having close contact with the person who is sick during my self-quarantine? What if another household member gets sick with COVID-19? Do I need to restart my self-quarantine? Yes. You will have to restart your self-quarantine from the last day you had close contact with anyone in your house who has COVID-19.
    • Any time a new household member gets sick with COVID-19 and you had close contact, you will need to restart your self-quarantine.
    • End of self-quarantine = Date of additional close contact with person with COVID-19 + 10 days
  • Scenario #4: I live in a household where I cannot avoid close contact with the person who has COVID-19. I am providing direct care to the person who is sick, don’t have a separate bedroom to isolate the person who is sick, or live in close quarters where I am unable to keep a physical distance of six feet.
    • You should avoid contact with others outside the home while the person is sick, and self-quarantine for ten days after the person who has COVID-19 meets the criteria to end home isolation.
    • End of self-quarantine = Date the person with COVID-19 ends self-isolation + 10 days

Self-quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Self-quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in self-quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.

The required duration of self-quarantine is typically ten days from an individual’s last contact with an infected person. However, there are some situations in which self- quarantine can be required to be longer, such as if a self-quarantined individual is exposed to a second infected person while in self-quarantine. In that instance, the self-quarantine timeline resets to the date of the additional exposure. Another example is if a self-quarantined individual lives in the same household as an infected person. In this instance, the individual must remain self-quarantined for fourteen days following the end of their household member’s self-isolation period.

An individual may receive self-quarantine orders from the HPU Contact Tracing Team, from the Brownwood-Brown County Health Department, or from another health department. If an individual receives self-quarantine orders from the University, he or she is required by University policy to abide by the instructions provided to them by the HPU Contact Tracing Team, and if he or she receives self-quarantine orders from the Brownwood-Brown County Health Department, they are required by state law as well as University policy to abide by the instructions provided to them.

Students are encouraged to self-quarantine at their permanent residences if possible, in order to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 to other HPU students in on- or off-campus residences. However, this will be impossible for some students due to housing vulnerabilities, lack of transportation, or household members who fall into an at-risk population group. Therefore, the University will have a number of designated rooms in the residence halls that will be utilized for the purpose of self-quarantine.

Students who utilize these self-quarantine rooms will be required to remain in these rooms for the duration of the self-quarantine period. Meals will be delivered by a resident director or a member of the Office of Student Life staff and the University Nurse will monitor their health with daily health screenings via phone call. The HPU Contact Tracing Team will alert the student’s course instructors, on-campus employment supervisor (if applicable), and the University’s Athletics Department (if applicable). Faculty members will adjust the student’s course syllabi as necessary in order to accommodate the student’s self-quarantine requirement.

Over-the-counter medications (acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.) and other healthcare-related items will be available for self-quarantining students upon request by contacting the University nurse.

All students, faculty members, and staff members who are self-quarantined will be required to complete the HPU COVID-19 Daily Health Log, ensuring the University is able to monitor each individual in self-quarantine to ensure that the individual is not developing symptoms of COVID-19. The HPU COVID-19 Daily Health Log can be found on the COVID-19 centralized information center. Each day, the self-quarantined individual will record his or her morning temperature, evening temperature, and any symptoms of COVID-19 that they might be experiencing. Students should submit their log results daily via email to covidhelp@hputx.edu. Faculty or staff members should submit their log results at the end of the self-quarantine period.

If the self-quarantined individual develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he or she should determine whether it is necessary to be tested for COVID-19. Students should immediately call the University Nurse’s Office, who can help provide instructions on what the student needs to do. Faculty members or staff members should contact the Brownwood-Brown County Health Department’s COVID-19 hotline at 325-642-2635 or 325-430-5933 or their personal healthcare provider in order to determine next steps.

It is imperative that all individuals who develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 call their personal healthcare provider or their local healthcare facility (walk-in clinic, urgent care center, free-standing emergency room, or hospital emergency room) in order to allow healthcare providers and frontline workers to ensure they have adequate personal protective equipment and that healthcare providers, frontline workers, and other patients are not exposed to COVID-19.

At the end of the self-quarantine period, following the submission of the individual’s HPU COVID-19 Daily Health Log, the HPU Contact Tracing Team will provide clearance for the individual to return to regular campus activity. The individual should not return to campus until he or she has received a written notice of clearance to return from the HPU Contact Tracing Team. Upon return to campus, individuals should continue to protect themselves and others by following all necessary precautions in order to mitigate the risk of spreading or contracting COVID-19.