TO: All employees
FR: Kendall Newman, Operations Manager for Risk Management and Safety Services on behalf of the COVID Monitoring and Compliance Team
This message is to confirm that the Sonoma County Public Health department has issued orders further aligning COVID-19 quarantine and isolation guidelines with revised CDC guidelines. Sonoma County Public Health and the California Department of Public Health have provided further updates on the definition of fully vaccinated, and updated recommendations for wearing proper face masks. The information below summarizes the changes and explains how this will impact Sonoma State campus protocols.
Updates to the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’
Individuals who have the first set of doses in their COVID-19 vaccination (two doses for two-dose series or one dose in a one-dose vaccination) were previously considered fully vaccinated and exempt from quarantine orders following an exposure with a COVID-19 positive individual. Under new Sonoma County health orders, individuals who are eligible for a COVID-19 booster but have NOT yet received one are subject to quarantine orders if they have been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual. In alignment with county health orders, SSU employees who have been exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual, and who are eligible for boosters but have not yet received one, will be subject to quarantine.
Changes to isolation and quarantine orders
Under the new public health orders, if you receive a positive rapid COVID-19 test or a positive PCR test, you will isolate in the following ways based upon your symptoms:
- If you are asymptomatic (no symptoms) with a positive rapid or PCR test, you will need to isolate for five days and produce a negative COVID-19 rapid test taken on day five. A rapid antigen test is preferred. If you are unable to produce a negative test on day five, you will need to isolate for 10 days.
- If you are experiencing symptoms that begin to resolve themselves, you will need to isolate for five days and produce a negative COVID-19 rapid test taken on day five. Your isolation would end on day six.
- If you are experiencing symptoms that remain consistent or worsen or if the rapid test on day five or later is positive, a 10-day isolation window is required from the onset of symptoms.
However under any of the above situations, current workplace safety standards (CalOSHA Emergency Temporary Standards) require a minimum of 10 days to have passed before returning to campus. This would be 10 days from the onset of symptoms or 10 days from the results of a positive test for asymptomatic individuals. Employees will be cleared by the COVID Monitoring Team on Day 11 after providing appropriate doctor’s clearance or public health release documentation. Employees may not self-clear or return to on-campus work without such approval from the COVID Monitoring Team.
Face mask recommendations
The California Department of Public Health has issued revised recommendations on the proper type of face masks to be worn in minimizing the spread of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. Get the most out of your mask and understand the most effective strategies for wearing face masks. A well fitted mask has no gaps between the face and mask, such as above the nose or at the sides. With gaps, air that has virus particles can easily leak in or out around the sides of the mask. Visit the CDPH’s website for more information.
We appreciate hearing from you. If you have any questions about this exposure or other COVID-19 concerns due to this notification, contact our office at covid.monitoring@sonoma.edu.
Stay safe and well.