Touro University California is committed to the health and safety of its students, staff and community and to provide a safe and healthy learning and working environment. Healthy TUC and other COVID related policies have been implemented to ensure the most effective delivery of educational experiences while adjusting for the reality of the challenges of living, learning, teaching, and experiencing life during a pandemic. Touro Bulls are stronger than the temporary inconveniences and challenges that this pandemic presents. We all depend on each other to follow these and other policies to ensure each-others and our families' health and safety.

• Social Distancing: Keeping space (6 ft.) between yourself and other people outside your household to prevent the spread of disease.
• Quarantine: Separating people and limiting movement of people who have or may have been exposed to the disease to see if they become ill.
• Self-Isolation: Separating people who have diagnosed COVID-19 from others who are not ill to keep the disease from spreading.
• Close Contact: Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.

Social distancing

TUC implemented and has been practicing social distancing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all become accustomed to it. For example, you're likely keeping social distance by staying at least 6 feet (2 meters) away from others outside your home and avoiding large groups such as classes, gatherings, concerts, sporting events, weddings, funerals, etc.

Quarantine

Doctors or local health departments may ask or require people to go into quarantine who might have been exposed to COVID-19 or who've recently had "close contact" with someone with COVID-19. This can help to prevent spread of illness from people with COVID-19 before they feel ill or have symptoms. People who don't develop symptoms of COVID-19 after the quarantine period ends are released.

If you're quarantining at home because you might have been exposed to COVID-19 or you have had close contact with someone with COVID-19, the CDC recommends that you monitor yourself as follows:

Stay home for 14 days.

Watch for common signs and symptoms, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.

Keep distance (6 feet) between yourself and others.

Stay away from other people as much as possible, especially people at high risk of serious illness. Wear a mask if contact with other people can't be avoided.

Self-Isolate yourself at home if you feel ill. Call your doctor if symptoms worsen.

Self-Isolation

Doctors or local health departments may take special isolation precautions for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). They will likely ask or require people to go into isolation who have the virus that causes COVID-19 or who have symptoms of COVID-19. People who do not have symptoms but have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 will also likely be asked to go into isolation. Hospitals have isolation units for very ill people. But doctors may advise many people with mild symptoms of COVID-19 to isolate at home.

During home isolation, you'll need to stay away from family members and pets. Wear a mask if you are near others. Avoid sharing dishes, glasses, bedding and other household items. Use a separate bedroom and bathroom if possible. If your symptoms get worse, contact your doctor for medical advice. Follow recommendations from your doctor and local health department about when you can end isolation. These measures can help limit the spread of COVID-19.

When to Self-Isolate

Self-isolation is required for all travelers returning to campus from outside the State of California as well as those identified through Healthy TUC plan including exposure, close contact exposure, etc.

Self-Isolation Key Points

Students: Stay in your room or at home and do not go to class or participate in any on campus activities.

Employees: Do not go to work. Work with your supervisor and HR to explore working from home options, if appropriate.

• All: Do not go to public events, meetings, social activities, or other group activities. Do not have others come to your home for social visits.
• All: Avoid rideshare and public transportation, such as Uber, Lyft, taxis, Caltrain, and BART.
• All: Cover coughs and sneezes with your upper sleeve or a tissue. Never cough in the direction of someone else.
• All: Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• All: Wash laundry and dishes using hot water. If you can, use a washing machine and dishwasher.
• All: Monitor yourself for symptoms. If you develop a fever, cough, or sore throat, call your Health Care Provider for advice health care provider for advice, and share your travel history

Individual exposures added together over a 24-hour period (e.g., three 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes). Data are limited, making it difficult to precisely define "close contact;" however, 15 cumulative minutes of exposure at a distance of 6 feet or less can be used as an operational definition for contact investigation. Factors to consider when defining close contact include proximity (closer distance likely increases exposure risk), the duration of exposure (longer exposure time likely increases exposure risk), whether the infected individual has symptoms (the period around onset of symptoms is associated with the highest levels of viral shedding), if the infected person was likely to generate respiratory aerosols (e.g., was coughing, singing, shouting), and other environmental factors (crowding, adequacy of ventilation, whether exposure was indoors or outdoors). Because the general public has not received training on proper selection and use of respiratory PPE, such as an N95, the determination of close contact should generally be made irrespective of whether the contact was wearing respiratory PPE.