Dear Members of the Georgetown Community,
Last week, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser issued new travel guidance for District residents traveling outside of the District-Maryland-Virginia area and visitors traveling to the District of Columbia. With this new guidance and Thanksgiving break approaching, community members approved to work on campus should consider quarantine and testing implications related to any travel to a “high-risk state” or international location.
The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating around the United States, and Thanksgiving is a high-risk time for transmission. If you will be traveling away from the Washington, DC region, we encourage you to minimize contact with those outside your household for 14 days before traveling. Shared indoor meals are risky settings, and you may want to reconsider celebrating Thanksgiving with family members and friends who are at high risk of severe disease should they acquire COVID-19.
If you will be traveling to a high-risk state or international location for fewer than 14 days:
- Inform your supervisor of your travel plans prior to departure.
- Self-quarantine upon your return to DC. Faculty or staff members who live on-campus can self-quarantine in their on-campus residences.
- Get a COVID-19 test 3-5 days after you return.
- Stay in self-quarantine until you receive a negative test result; once you receive a negative test, self-quarantine can end. You will not be permitted to return to campus until you receive a negative test result.
- Continue to get tested in accordance with the COVID-19 testing protocol through the end of the semester.
If you will be traveling anywhere outside of the DC area for more than 14 days, or you think you were at risk of exposure to COVID-19 during your travels:
- Inform your supervisor of your travel plans prior to departure.
- Get tested 72 hours prior to your return to DC.
- Self-quarantine upon your return. Faculty or staff members who live on-campus can self-quarantine in their on-campus residences.
- Get a COVID-19 test 3-5 days after you return.
- Stay in self-quarantine until you receive a negative test result; once you receive a negative test, self-quarantine can end. You will not be permitted to return to campus until you receive a negative test result.
- Continue to get tested in accordance with the COVID-19 testing protocol through the end of the semester.
If you are self-quarantining and unable to come to campus for a regularly-scheduled work day, you may submit a time off request in GMS and choose the “COVID-19” time off type.
If you are an essential employee (as designated in your position description):
- Inform your supervisor of your travel plans prior to departure.
- You do not need to self-quarantine or get tested three to five days after you return to DC, unless you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days.
- Continue to get tested in accordance with the COVID-19 testing protocol through the end of the semester.
Below is the adjusted One Medical testing schedule for the period between Thanksgiving through the end of the Fall 2020 semester. Be advised that the current testing location will move from McDonough Gym to Healey Family Student Center after November 20.
Thanksgiving Week: Healey Family Student Center
- Monday, November 23, to Wednesday, November 25: Normal Schedule
- Thursday, November 26, to Sunday, November 29: Closed
Thanksgiving Week: Law Center
- Tuesday, November 24: Normal Schedule
- Friday, November 27: Closed
From Monday, November 30, to Friday, December 18, on-campus testing hours at the Main Campus will adhere to their normal schedule. From Monday, November 30, through the first week of January 2021, testing at the Law Center will continue with the normal Tuesday and Friday schedule, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The Law Center testing site will be closed on Friday, December 25, and Friday, January 1.
If you are traveling for the holidays, you can also get tested at 85+ One Medical office locations nationwide.
More information about testing requirements for Spring 2021 will be shared in the coming weeks.
With a surge of COVID-19 around the country and flu season, it is critical we all continue to follow public health measures. This includes wearing a mask, minimizing interactions with people outside your household, getting a flu vaccine, maintaining physical distancing from others, washing your hands regularly, and following other guidance from federal, local and university public health authorities.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ranit Mishori, M.D., MHS, FAAFP
Professor of Family Medicine, Interim Chief Public Health Officer
Marc Barbiere, MPH, CEM
Director, Office of Emergency Management