Protocols for Positive Tests and Free Tests for Possible Exposure

Positive cases in MCB labs in Simon Hall

So far, I have been made aware of three positive cases in Simon Hall, in non-Chemistry labs.  I share the frustration and anxiety expressed by members of our community who are on the same floor with the individuals who have tested positive about the lack of official communication from PSIA. I have been assured by the OVPFAA that PSIA is aware of the cases, they have been conducting contact tracing and testing for anyone flagged as having had close contact within a specific time period of the positive test.  This is the current basis for cleaning and contact tracing that was forwarded to me:

“An advanced cleaning is triggered if a positive case has been identified within 72 hours of the person last being on campus while infectious.

According to the CDC guidance for community exposure, a close contact is someone that has been within 6 feet of a positive case for at least 15 minutes within the two days prior to symptom onset or until they meet the criteria for discontinuing home isolation. For asymptomatic cases tracing would occur from the two days prior to the test collection. During the case investigation interview, close contacts identified by the patient will be notified by the tracers to self-quarantine for 14 days from their last known exposure. They will not disclose who has exposed them or identified them as a close contact.”

Vice Provost for Research Jeff Zaleski and Vice President for Research Fred Cate are currently finalizing a very concise protocol for handling positive cases."

Current protocols for positive tests

As noted in the 30 July message, any positive cases need to be reported: Here is the link to the COVID-19 reporting form:  https://psia-fireform.eas.iu.edu/online/form/authen/007. Anyone testing positive, or who has any symptoms, needs to stay home. The Community Responsibility Acknowledgement Agreement, which anyone on campus was required to sign prior to return, states that: “Comply with the university’s policy on checking for symptoms of COVID-19, testing for COVID-19, tracing people who may have been exposed to COVID-19, and quarantining people who test positive for COVID-19 or who are likely to have been exposed to it, as described by the Restart Committee (https://research.iu.edu/coronavirus/research-restart-guidelines.html).”  Also, “COVID-19 symptoms should be reported to the PI. (Still don’t know what we’re supposed to do with this info, other than send it up the reporting portal)  Researchers should take their temperature each day before coming to lab. If you have come into contact with an infected person, you should not come in and call IU Health for guidance on testing and/or quarantining.”

If you believe you may have been exposed

Following up on the previous item, I have been informed that IU Health will not test people who are asymptomatic at this point in time.  You can, however, be tested for free locally at the Armory on the south side of Bloomington, though this venue occasionally closes during hot weather.  To use this resource, you need to register here: https://www.lhi.care/covidtesting. You will be given an ID number and an appointment will be set, but you are not required to actually wait for the appointment. You can just walk up, once you have the ID number.  Other testing sites in the state: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fa61af71d4474e62b2408647d1624817