COVID-19

Coronavirus (officially COVID-19; formerly Novel Coronavirus 2019 or 2019-nCoV) is the name of the illness people get when infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the official name given to the actual virus). It was first identified in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global pandemic of COVID-19.  Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and now with this new virus COVID-19.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), human coronaviruses are common throughout the world and usually cause mild to moderate illness in most people.  This new virus is a public health concern because: 

• It is new and we currently have a limited understanding of the virus, nor do we have immunity to it. 
• Two other human coronaviruses, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, have caused severe illness
• Older adults and those with underlying chronic medical conditions or compromised immune systems may be at increased risk of complication 
• Read more about illness severity

People can spread the COVID-19 disease to each other through nose and mouth droplets when someone who is infected coughs, sneezes, or exhales. The droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people nearby and be breathed in; and on surfaces and objects that other people then touch. Infected people may be able to spread the disease before they have symptoms or feel sick. A person can also spread the disease if they have no symptoms. Research has shown that 30-45% of people infected do not develop symptoms. The picture depicts your risk exposure according to your activities (click on picture to enlarge): 

 The most common symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, congestion, or loss of taste or smell. Other less common symptoms include: 

• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhea

If you are experiencing any of these emergency symptoms, call 911 right away. If you are a student living on campus, please call Public Safety 651-631-5310 after you have called 911. 

• Blue lips or face
• Consistent pressure on the chest
• Trouble focusing/concentrating
• Difficulty being aroused/staying awake

Can it be COVID-19? Use this self-screening tool from Minnesota Department of Health to check your symptoms and how/when to seek help

All students with COVID-like symptoms or exposure must be reported to UNW via the COVID-19 Self Report Portal, by emailing Health Services at healthservices@unwsp.edu or calling Health Services at 651-631-5246 and should get tested. Please call Health Services for an appointment to get tested. 

Students who have symptoms and choose not to be tested, must isolate for at least 10 full days until their symptoms have improved and have been fever-free for 24 hours without taking a fever- reducing medication. 

Keep in mind that while waiting for your results, you should stay home and separate yourself from other people in your home (who do not have symptoms) as much as possible. Wash your hands often and clean frequently touched surfaces. 

Health Services currently has a variety of different testing options, all of which are generally more timely than what you will find in the community.

The nasal PCR test is available here in Health Services. PCR testing is considered the “gold standard” in SARS-CoV-2 detection. This test actually detects RNA (or genetic material) that is specific to the virus and can detect the virus within days of infection, even those who have no symptoms. It is sent out to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) for processing and results are generally back within 24-72 hours. This test is billed directly to your insurance company from HCMC. The cost is $75 for non-insured students, the charge to the insurance may differ. *Please be aware that if your health insurance denies this claim, the fee will be billed to the student account. Please bring a copy of your insurance card to your appointment. 

Our rapid antigen test is excellent and available for those with or without symptoms. This test detects protein fragments specific to the Coronavirus. Results are received within 15-20 minutes of the test time. That test is $35.00. For students, that cost is added to the student account. For employees with UNW insurance, it is covered by your insurance company, and for employees without UNW health insurance, $35.00 is due at the time of the test. A receipt is provided upon request (to submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement).

FREE TESTING OPTIONS:

We have obtained a free rapid antigen test which is available for individuals with symptoms fitting a certain criteria. We will utilize that test whenever possible based on your symptoms; if the test is negative, you may be advised to have a follow up test for further confirmation.

Testing is available at:  UNW Student Health Services Respiratory Clinic: By appointment only 

Monday- Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM 

Center Pointe Building

2955 Centre Pointe Drive

Roseville, MN 55113

651-631-5276

You can also follow this link to find testing location near you. 

It is best to stay informed of the travel recommendations put forth by the CDC. This link outlines those recommendations and includes an interactive map in which you can determine the level of risk to an area you are considering. 

As with all travel, please practice the following precautions: 

• Clean your hands often with soap and water or hand sanitizer
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth
• Keep 6 feet of space between yourself and others
• Wear a mask
• Cover coughs and sneezes
• Bring enough of your medications to last the entire trip
• Consider packing food or picking up food from the store, drive-thru or curbside pickup

Currently, there are no specific antiviral treatment recommended for COVID-19 infection. The federal government is working hard with laboratories for a vaccine and a vaccine is in the trial stage, but it won't be available for a while. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus. Here are good habits to practice to prevent the spread of infection: 

• Stay home as much as possible. Stay home when you are sick! 
• Wear a face covering when a public setting
• Practice social distancing, stay at least 6 feet away from people who are sick
• Work from home if you can
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with the inside of your elbow or your sleeve. If you use a tissue, do not reuse it. Throw it away and wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. 
• Cover your cough video 
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
• Wash your hands often, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when soap and water are not available. 
  • Practice hand hygiene even your hands are not visibly dirty

• Minnesota Department of Health PSA video

• Minnesota now (as of July 25, 2020) requires the use of face coverings in all public indoor settings and spaces, unless alone. Face coverings can include paper or disposable mask, cloth mask, a neck gaiter, a scarf, a bandanna, or a religious face covering. The face covering must cover the nose and mouth completely and should not be overly tight or restrictive. 
  
  A face covering is not a substitute for social distancing, but is especially important in situations when maintaining at least 6-foot distance from other individuals who are not members of the same household is not possible. 

If you have been exposed to someone who currently has COVID-19: 

• Quarantine yourself for 14 days after the last day you were in contact with the individual within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes. 
• If you start to develop symptoms while you are in quarantine, you will need to self isolate for the next 10 days (the day that you first noticed symptoms will count as day 1) and at least 24 hours after your fever has gone away without taking fever reducing medications and all your respiratory symptoms have improved. 

If you have had close contact with someone who has been told by a doctor, clinic or hospital that they have COVID-19:

• You need to quarantine for 14 days
  • You should monitor your symptoms for fever (either taken with a thermometer or if you feel feverish), and any of the symptoms mentioned above
• Stay home
  • Arrange for food and other necessities to be delivered to you
  • You may go to your primary healthcare facility or urgent care/ER for evaluation/possible testing but please call ahead before you go. 
• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, frequently

• Disinfect frequently touched areas and objects often
• **Notify Health Services of your exposure as soon as possible by using the COVID-19 Self Report Portal. Health Services will do its best to get back to you within a few hours. 
  • Notify Health Services, and/or primary care clinic as soon as possible if you start to develop symptoms then,
    • Transition to self-isolation once you start to notice symptom**

If you have flu-like symptoms that include any of the following symptoms: fever, cough, loss of taste and/or smell, shortness of breath, muscle/body aches, sore throat you should go get tested for COVID-19 at UNW Health Services Respiratory Clinic, your local primary care office or affiliated testing site. If you are having any of the emergency symptoms listed above, dial 911 immediately. Please call your insurance carrier to get a list of local places you can go to get tested.  You will also need to self-isolate until your symptoms have mostly improved and have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without taking fever reducing medications.  

• Isolate yourself in a room, away from others in the household, as soon as you start to show symptoms of COVID. 
  • Day 1 starts the day you developed symptoms. So if you have already been in quarantine for 14 days, you will need to isolate for the next 10 days. 
  • Check your temperature at least twice a day, and record them
  • You can take Tylenol, Ibuprofen or Cold/Flu relief medications as directed
  • Stop taking medication as soon as you start to feel better so you can monitor your temperature without the aid of fever reducers. 
  • Keep hydrated by drinking adequate amounts of fluids, eat small meals often
  • Alternate activity with rest, as you're able
• Do not leave isolation.
  • **If you are a student on campus, with COVID-19 symptoms, please notify your care manager of your needs**

• Stay calm. People who have mild symptoms are able to recover at home. Don't leave your home except to get medical care. Avoid public areas and public transportation/ride shares. 
• Avoid contact with others
  • stay away from others in your home
  • use a separate bathroom if you can
  • limit contact with pets and animals
  • Wear a face mask if you need to be around people, and cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Wash hands thoroughly afterwards. 
• Stay in touch with your provider or clinic.  Call ahead before you get medical care. **Be sure to get care if you feel worse or if you think you are having an emergency situation, call 911
• Check your symptoms here
• If you have further questions or feel like you need to talk to a provider, call: 
  • UNW students can call Health Services at 651-631-5246 

                               Office hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 AM- 4:30 PM; ; Wednesdays 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM- 4:30 PM (while school is in session. Health Services is closed during weekends, academic breaks and holidays.) 

               After hours, go to a doctor's office, urgent/urgency center or emergency room, call ahead and tell them about your recent travel and your symptoms.

• Click here for a list of nearby  facilities. 
• Or you may contact your personal health care provider/clinic DO NOT WALK IN TO ANY LOCAL CLINICS, CALL AHEAD FOR FURTHER DIRECTIONS
• If you do not have a primary care or your primary care is not local, and you think you need to be seen, please check the Allina Health website for screening criterion
• Do not travel while sick. Please do not get on public transportation or come to Health Services without calling first. 
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available. 
• For more up to date recommendations, click here. 

If you tested positive and are symptomatic or if you've been sick with any type of respiratory illness, whether you've had a fever or not, it is highly recommended that you stay home until you are completely well. Stay home until all three of these things are true: 

1. You feel better- i.e: your cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms are better and
2. It has been 10 days since you first felt sick and
3. You have not had a fever for at least 24 hours, without using fever reducing medications (Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Nyquil/Dayquil, etc.)

If you tested positive for COVID-19 but did not have any symptoms, day 1 of isolation starts the day you were tested and you will be in isolation through day 10. 

*Please report any positive COVID tests or exposure to UNW by clicking on the COVID-19 Report Portal, emailing Health Services at healthservices@unwsp.edu, or calling Health Services at 651-631-5246. After hours, please call the  COVID-19 Hotline at 651-631-5353. 

If you are currently being prescribed a medication through Health Services:

• Preferred method: send us a secure message via electronic medical system or register on Medicat so that you can communicate with Health Services via secure messaging 
• You can call Health Services at 651-631-5246 to talk to a Health Services staff or provider

The outbreak of COVID-19 may be causing some fear and anxiety and may be stressful for people. Coping and managing with stress can help you, the people you care about, and your community stronger. Here are some tips on how to cope with self- quarantine at home: 

• Exercise- get your heart pumping with a fun-filled Zumba lesson on youtube or a test your flexibility with a live streaming of Yoga. Whichever activity you choose, choose one that will take your mind off COVID-19.
• Cook or bake- you can finally perfect (or at least attempt) that dish you have been craving for so long
• Do some cleaning or de-cluttering that you have been putting off for a while
• Get your information from a reliable source, such as WHO, CDC, or MDH
• When you feel overwhelmed or anxious, remember to take a deep breath- breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth
• At this time, you still are able to go outside and take a walk, or get some fresh air. 
• Take this opportunity to take a break from your normal routines and do some relaxing activities such as reading a good book, watching movies or a series that you haven't had time for. 
• Remember, you can still stay connected with the people who are important to you via FaceTime, Skype, Marco Polo (app), 
• This document put together by our counselors here at UNW on how to cope with mental health during COVID-19 is a great resource to get tips on how to deal with anxieties that you may have with this pandemic and looking to God for calm and peace.  
• Here is video that can help you stay mentally healthy during this pandemic.  

Below are some things to prepare if you will be living on campus: 

• Advil (Ibuprofen) or Tylenol (Acetaminophen), or both
• Dayquil or Nyquil
• Mucinex (expectorant)
• Thermometer 
• Hand sanitizer for your backpack or purse
• Soup
• Small cans of 7-up
• Water
• Extra Kleenex
• Warm fleece blanket for chills
• Icepack for forehead if you run a fever
• Cough drops
• Lotion (your hands can get dry from frequent handwashing, and it is a great protection from viruses and bacteria as well)
• Disinfectant wipe/spray to clean frequently touched surfaces

It is also highly recommended for you to carry a copy of your insurance card with you, and have a care plan for when you are really sick. 

The most common myths you may have heard about COVID-19 addressed. 

WHO Myth Busters

CDC: Help Stop the Rumors