COVID -19 Guidelines and Measures – Georgetown American University

COVID-19 HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES AND MEASURES

Safety First!

As we prepare for the new school term, our goal is to ensure that all stakeholders and community members remain safe during this COVID-19 pandemic. The university will continue to have virtual classes with minimum provision for onsite clinical training and assessment. The university’s health and safety measures are grounded on the currently available data and science, the recommendations of GAU Health and Safety Committee – COVID-19 Task Force, the WHO guidelines, and National COVID-19 Task Force guidance. These measures are essential to GAU’s efforts to reduce risk to a level that would allow for minimum on-campus activities. As the pandemic evolves, these measures will be subject to change.

COVID-19 Testing

It is currently not a requirement unless requested by a healthcare provider. We will encourage any stakeholder or community visitor to get tested if they have been in contact with anyone who was tested positive for COVID-19

Monitoring Symptoms

More than 35% of positive COVID-19 cases in Guyana are asymptomatic[i]; however, we still encourage the monitoring of symptoms as a best practice to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Stakeholders Community visitors who frequent the premises will honestly and fill out a daily self-attestation of symptoms and temperature through a mobile application
Stakeholders Community visitors who do not frequent the premises (only picking up materials, attending a short training session) will not seek to gain entry to campus buildings without a scheduled appointment. Before entering the building, they must be cleared by a medical provider and received a risk assessment badge allowing access to campus buildings.
Stakeholders Community visitors will watch for symptoms if they have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 and will follow recommendations of public health authorities.
The university recognizes the importance of protecting private health information and the autonomy of the individual, and will limit to the extent possible what personal information is collected, who has access to it, how it is used.

Quarantine & Isolation

Quarantine and Isolation of persons exposed to COVID-19 positive patients is the best practice in reducing the spread of the COVID-19. Limiting close face-to-face contact with others is the best way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (CDC 2020) [ii]

Stakeholders and Community visitors will self-quarantine, as instructed by a health care provider, based on reported symptoms, close contact with a COVID-19 infected person or person under investigation for possible COVID-19.
All stakeholders who have recently travel will quarantine for
All stakeholders who have been tested positive for COVID-19 will isolate for two weeks until they obtain a negative COVID-19 test result and are cleared by a healthcare provider.

Safety Measures

The university will follow WHO guidelines in getting the workplace ready for reopening during the pandemic. [iii]

All stakeholders will wash their hands or use hand sanitizer frequently and wear a face covering over their nose and mouth at all times except when they are alone.
Stakeholders can remove masks only if they are operating in an open space in which they maintain 6’ of distance from other people. They, however, must at all times have a mask in their possession.
All stakeholders will reframe from conjugating in groups of more than ten persons and must at all times maintain 6’ of distance from other persons.
Only clinical training and comprehensive assessments will be allowed on campus. All precautions will be made to ensure students and staff remains at least 6’ of distance from each other.
No more than one (1) instructor to one (1) student must occupy any instruction space of 100 sq ft. at the university at a given time.
Stakeholders will only communicate with staff and faculty members via email or telephone calls. An in-person meeting is prohibited at this time.
The university will provide PPE for students who attend onsite training sessions.

For more information, clarity, and updates on the university’s COVID-19 health and safety measures, please contact the chair of Health and Safety Committee Dr. Emmanuel Oside Emmanuel.oside@faculty.gau.edu.gy.