Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
I’m writing to share that we have updated the University’s public health protocols to align with the latest DC Department of Health isolation guidance and quarantine guidance, which were released earlier this week. Georgetown community members who test positive for COVID-19 may now end isolation after five full days and a negative antigen test result, provided that they are either asymptomatic or are fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medication and other symptoms are improving. These individuals must wear a properly-fitted, high-quality mask (e.g., N95, KN95, KN94) around others for a total of 10 days from the date they tested positive or their symptoms started.
Georgetown’s updated quarantine protocol requires individuals who are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccination (i.e., unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated and eligible for a booster but unboosted) to quarantine for five days after exposure.
Please see below for additional details and visit the University’s Quarantine and Isolation page for more information.
Isolation Protocol
Individuals who test positive through One Medical testing or report a positive test result via the COVID-19 Test Result Submission Form will automatically receive an email from Georgetown’s Care Navigator team with important information about isolation protocols. Please make sure to review the email thoroughly and follow all instructions.
Individuals who test positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, previous infection or the presence or absence of symptoms, must isolate for at least 5 full days.
In order to be cleared from isolation by a Care Navigator on Day 6, individuals must satisfy all of the criteria below:
- Not have any symptoms or, if mildly or moderately symptomatic, be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and with other symptoms improving, AND
- Receive a negative result from an antigen test taken on Day 5.
- The test result must be reported to Georgetown by submitting the COVID Test Result Submission Form.
- Care Navigators will help provide access to antigen tests. In addition, free rapid antigen at-home tests can be ordered through gov, and DC residents can pick up free rapid antigen test kits at several locations throughout DC.
- DO NOT get a PCR test unless instructed by a Care Navigator or a physician.
Some situations (e.g., severe disease, immunocompromised status, positive test on Day 5) will require longer isolation, and a Care Navigator will be in touch to provide guidance on the appropriate time to end isolation.
Quarantine Protocol
If you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 (i.e., less than 6 feet away from an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) and you are not up to date on your vaccination (i.e., unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or fully vaccinated and eligible for a booster shot but have not received a booster shot yet), you must:
- Stay in quarantine for at least five full days after your most recent known exposure, and report this exposure through the COVID-19 Symptom Check-In survey via the GU360 app or website.
- Take a PCR test as soon as possible and again on Day 5 of quarantine (the day of exposure counts as Day 0).
- If you receive a negative result on Day 5 and do not have symptoms, a Care Navigator will notify you that you can end quarantine on Day 6.
- If you receive a positive result, you will need to follow the isolation protocol.
- If you do not take a PCR test and do not have symptoms, a Care Navigator will notify you that you can end quarantine on Day 11 (after 10 full days in quarantine).
- If you develop symptoms at any point, complete the COVID-19 Symptom Check-In survey and continue or return to quarantine, and get tested as soon as possible.
- Wear a properly-fitted, high-quality mask (e.g., N95, KN95, KF94) around others for a total of 10 days after the date of exposure. If you are on campus during this period, you should wear an N95, KN95, or KN94.
Close contacts who are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccination do not need to quarantine but must:
- Take a PCR test on Day 5 (the day of exposure counts as Day 0). If you receive a positive result, you will need to follow the isolation protocol.
- Wear a properly-fitted, high-quality mask around others for a total of 10 days since the date of exposure. If you are on campus during this period, you should wear an N95, KN95, or KN94.
- If you develop symptoms, please stay home, report symptoms through the COVID-19 Symptom Check-In survey and schedule a PCR test through the One Medical app or website.
Close contacts who have tested positive within the past 90 days, regardless of vaccination status, do not need to quarantine and should not get a PCR test but must:
- Wear a properly-fitted, high-quality mask around others for a total of 10 days since the date of exposure. If you are on campus during this period, you should wear an N95, KN95, or KN94.
- If you develop symptoms, please stay home, report symptoms through the COVID-19 Symptom Check-In survey and follow instructions from the Care Navigator team.
Contact Tracing
While I’m encouraged by the continued decline in positive cases following the unprecedented surge that we experienced in late December and early January, our Public Health team is still responding to a higher daily volume of cases than we have since the beginning of the pandemic. Consistent with actions taken by other local universities and public health departments, and in line with the American College Health Association’s recent guidance for operating during this period, we have adjusted our contact tracing procedure.
At this time, Georgetown’s Care Navigator team will prioritize contacting residential students, supporting individuals who are in isolation or who are experiencing symptoms, and responding to community members who reach out to us with questions. We may not be able to follow up individually with everyone who tests positive after their initial notification, or to conduct thorough or universal contact tracing.
During this period, we are advising individuals who test positive to directly notify their close contacts and asking anyone who may have been exposed to reach out to our Care Navigator team for guidance.
We encourage all members of the Georgetown community to take extra precautions as we continue to respond to the highly transmissible Omicron variant:
- Wear a properly-fitting, high-quality mask (e.g., N95, KN95, KF94) while in indoor public places.
- Stay home if you have symptoms of COVID-19, and report any symptoms through the COVID-19 Symptom Check-In survey.
If you have questions, please email our team at covidcarenavigator@georgetown.edu.
Thank you for taking these important steps to protect the health and safety of the Georgetown community, and I wish you the best as we return to in-person instruction this week and plan to gradually resume other in-person activities on campus in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Ranit Mishori, M.D., MHS, FAAFP
Professor of Family Medicine, Vice President and Chief Public Health Officer