Last Reviewed: 10-06-2023
I. Testing and Exposure Protocols
What employees and supervisors should do if an employee has COVID-19 symptoms or thinks they may have been exposed to COVID-19 in a non-clinical setting.
All employees must continue to monitor their health daily and follow all masking and social distancing guidelines.
If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or had close contact (15 minutes or more at less than 6 feet distance) with a confirmed positive individual (whether at EVMS or outside of EVMS), you must complete the REDCap EVMS/EVMS Medical Group Exposure Survey and wait until you hear back from Occupational Health.
If Occupational Health has not contacted you within one business day after submitting the survey, call them at 757.446.5870.
In case of urgency or concern and only outside of Occupational Health normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.), you may call their exposure pager at 757.669.1157.
EVMS does not accept home rapid antigen or PCR tests.
If you test positive on a home test, you must complete confirmatory testing at the EVMS Drive-Thru Clinic or another formal testing center.
Occupational Health will be receiving a copy of your survey and will contact you Monday-Friday during normal business hours.
YOU MAY NOT REPORT TO WORK UNTIL CLEARED BY OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH.
If you are notified that an employee thinks that they have COVID-19 symptoms or thinks that they may have been exposed to COVID-19, or if you see one of your employees with COVID-19 symptoms:
Q. How has this protocol changed?
A. Given how highly contagious the Omicron variant is, EVMS has seen a dramatic increase in the number of employees exposed to COVID-positive persons or who are developing symptoms consistent with COVID. In addition, we are aware that employees are utilizing home tests or tests in the community to protect their families better. As such, we are streamlining the protocol so that the message is simple:
Q. Does this mean I am required to go out and buy home tests or get a test elsewhere?
A. No. Nothing in the protocol requires that you purchase a home test, but we recognize that given the wide availability, many employees are purchasing home tests or going to testing locations in an added effort to keep their families safe. As such, the protocol has been changed to include those tests.
Q. Does everyone in the building who may have been near a COVID-19 positive employee need to self-quarantine?
A. No. If you had close contact with an employee who tests positive, Occupational Health will notify you, and let you know your next steps. All other persons should come to work as normal.
Q. Will EVMS notify the entire campus that an employee has symptoms or thinks they have been exposed?
A. No. EVMS as an institution has to balance the requirements of the privacy of personal health information with the need to notify employees of potential risk. In general, EVMS will not send out campus-wide communications about individual incidents determined to be low risk and will only notify individuals who have had close contact. Close contact is defined as: a) being within 6 feet of a person with confirmed COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes or b) having unprotected direct contact with infectious secretions or excretions of the person with confirmed COVID-19 where at least one of the parties is not wearing a mask.
Q. What if an employee fails to follow the protocol?
A. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, employees are required to follow the protocols outlined and could be subject to disciplinary action for not following EVMS directives, including self-monitoring, masking and distancing guidelines. See the Universal Masking Policy and Disciplinary Action PowerPoint.