See the full COVID-19 Policies and Guidelines (updated 11/09/20)
Snow Days: Testing will go on all days as scheduled, except for Tuesdays. When a snow day (full or partial day) falls on Tuesday, testing will be canceled. If needed, an extra testing period will be held on Wednesday from noon - 1 pm in the Administration Building.
Missed testing or need to re-test: please go to the next available testing period, or when you will next be on campus if you have a long commute.
Regular testing: If you are on campus weekly, you must get tested each week. If you are not going to on campus for a week, you may miss a testing week. You must then get tested the next time you return to campus (i.e., if you normally test on Thursdays and miss a week, you must test on Monday if that is your first day back)
We are updating our Saturday testing times because of changes in shift hours for our overnight technicians and availability of Sunday morning testing. Testing on Saturday night will now be from 9:00 – 9:30 pm.
Day |
Time |
Location |
Primary Group+ |
Test Results Usual Return* |
Monday |
6:00 – 7:00 am |
Treadmill Room (HLA) |
Overnight staff |
Tuesday by noon |
8:30 am – 3:30 pm |
Treadmill Room |
Hospital/clinic staff |
Tuesday by noon |
|
Tuesday |
8:30 am – 5:30 pm |
Admin Bldg (KCR) |
Students/general staff |
Wednesday afternoon |
Wednesday |
5:00 – 6:00 pm |
Treadmill Room |
Hospital/clinic staff/others |
Friday by noon |
Thursday |
8:30 am – 3:30 pm |
Treadmill Room |
Hospital/clinic staff/others |
Friday by noon |
Friday |
||||
Saturday |
9:00 – 9:30 pm |
Treadmill Room |
Hospital/clinic staff |
Monday early morning |
Sunday |
9:30 – 10:00 am |
Admin Building |
All |
Monday early morning |
*Test return times are usual return times and are not guaranteed. Tests would not be considered late until early evening on the day of usual return.
+The primary group indicates the group the time is generally intended to serve. We try to limit mixing where possible, so when possible please stick to the appropriate primary group time. However, there is no absolute restriction on attending any of the times identified.
If you are exposed through close contact to COVID-19 off-campus, you will need to quarantine for 14 days and stay off campus, unless you follow the specific testing protocol outlined below. Please inform us through the cummingscovid@tufts.edu email if you have exposure to COVID-19 on or off campus.
Tufts University has established specific requirements for return to campus. You should be tested as soon as possible after being exposed. You must also be tested on Day 6 or 7 on campus by drive-through testing and have a negative test to be approved for return to campus on day 8. We will also ask you to be tested again around Day 10 post-exposure
If you are permitted to return to campus on Day 8, you must take your temperature daily and monitor for symptoms until Day 14. If you develop a fever, chills, or other symptoms, stay home and email cummingscovid@tufts.edu
Drive-Through Testing
Drive-through testing is only available for individuals on quarantine and/or who have been directed to access the service. You cannot go through our regular testing when you are on quarantine, unless you have been cleared as an essential worker. If you are on quarantine, please email cummingscovid@tufts.edu and they will provide directions for drive-through testing that are relevant to your situation.
Drive-through testing is not to be used for travel-related quarantine and testing requirements. It is only for individuals with known exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or when directed through cummingscovid@tufts.edu.
We are still planning on holding spring break this year. We feel it is important for the health of our students, and our faculty and staff.
We ask that you not engage in any strictly vacation travel (e.g. going to Florida beaches) over the break—and especially that you not engage in any large group activities. If you do intend to engage in vacation travel outside Massachusetts over the break, you should email cummingscovid@tufts.edu for specific guidance on returning to campus.
We recognize that traveling to visit family is important and that many of you will do this. However, when you visit family who are not part of your core household or who you do not see on a regular basis, it is considered a high-risk activity as most people do not wear masks and social distance when inside under these circumstances. (The majority of positive cases in Massachusetts are family transmission.) Therefore, traveling out of state and spending time with non-household members indoors (e.g., staying with family or friends) will result in a requirement for two negative tests prior to return to campus. Depending on the exact situation and timing, tests must spread over 3 to 7 days, with the second test typically at least 5 days, and preferably 6 to 7 days, after return to Massachusetts.
To facilitate this, all pre-clinical and graduate programs will be remote the week after spring break.
All students are asked to be back in Massachusetts and in their usual residence by the evening of Sunday, March 21, and must be back no later than Monday, March 22. If you have left the state, you will require one negative test to come out of the Massachusetts quarantine (i.e. Monday, March 22). Your second negative test should be no earlier than Thursday, March 25 and no later than one day before you are required to return to campus (leaving enough time for the test result to get back).
Faculty and staff are expected to follow a similar testing regimen for return to campus if they leave Massachusetts and stay with non-household members or engage in other high-risk activities. Email cummingscovid@tufts.edu for specific guidance.
All employees and students must complete the Tufts Daily Health Check online before coming to work.
All employees and students are expected to take their temperature twice a day. If their temperature is above 100.0, they should stay home and monitor unless there is an obvious, non-illness related explanation (including having a high normal range). A temperature of 100.4 is considered a fever and always requires staying home for a minimum of 48 hours after resolution of the fever. All fevers should be reported as illness.
All individuals normally coming to campus who are sick or unwell for any reason are required to stay at home or to leave the workplace immediately.
Anyone who is sick or unwell should email cummingscovid@tufts.edu for specific guidance and be cleared to return to work or school.
In addition, you must notify the appropriate supervisor that you will not be coming to campus:
General Guidance
If anyone with confirmed or probable COVID-19 is on campus, we will carry out contact tracing. Contact tracing for positive tests through our on-campus testing will have contact tracing by Marathon Health (see below). All other contact tracing (probably COVID-19; positive symptomatic) will be carried out on-campus by OEHN (and/or other appointed individuals). This is why we ask for the information above when you are sick. Please note that the Department of Public Health may do additional contact tracing. We do not do contact tracing for off-campus individuals.
In order for proper contact tracing, it is important that you provide as accurate information as possible.
In assessing the steps required following close contact, it is important that we have the details.
The following guidelines are in place related to close contact with a case. A case is defined as anyone with probable COVID-19, symptomatic positive for COVID-19, or asymptomatic positive for COVID-19. This includes co-workers, employees, family members, friends, roommates, or any other person in your life with whom you may have close contact (as defined above).
The PPE requirements outlined in this policy are MANDATORY. The final authority for implementation is the dean.
The critical process in ensuring compliance is education and moral suasion. We should all engage in the appropriate behavior such that it is socially unacceptable for someone not to comply. Immediate peer feedback is the first approach to increase compliance. Requesting support from immediate supervisors or chairs is the next step.
We have established an anonymous reporting system for non-compliance. Reports will be monitored and provided to the relevant individual for action (listed below):
In the event that an individual repeatedly fails to comply (e.g. a third request or warning), putting themselves or others at risk, the matters should be brought to the dean who will determine the appropriate next steps in consultation with the relevant individual from the list above.
When possible, limit vehicles to two people and physically distance as much as possible within the vehicle.
Summary
Full Guidelines
Cummings School and Tufts University cannot dictate how employees or students spend personal time. Nevertheless, Cummings School asks that all employees and students respect the principles and guidelines of this policy in their personal activities to reduce the risk of becoming infected with COVID-19.
Please note that group activities, particularly with people you do not normally interact with, increase risk. It is essential to follow MA guidelines on gathering sizes, to have everyone wear masks, to respect physical distancing, and to avoid inside gatherings.
For more information and resources for researchers—including links to the research reopen surveys—please see Cummings School’s COVID-19 intranet.
We are still planning on holding spring break this year. We feel it is important for the health of our students, and our faculty and staff.
We ask that you not engage in any strictly vacation travel (e.g. going to Florida beaches) over the break—and especially that you not engage in any large group activities. If you do intend to engage in vacation travel outside Massachusetts over the break, you should email cummingscovid@tufts.edu for specific guidance on returning to campus.
We recognize that traveling to visit family is important and that many of you will do this. However, when you visit family who are not part of your core household or who you do not see on a regular basis, it is considered a high-risk activity as most people do not wear masks and social distance when inside under these circumstances. (The majority of positive cases in Massachusetts are family transmission.) Therefore, traveling out of state and spending time with non-household members indoors (e.g., staying with family or friends) will result in a requirement for two negative tests prior to return to campus. Depending on the exact situation and timing, tests must spread over 3 to 7 days, with the second test typically at least 5 days, and preferably 6 to 7 days, after return to Massachusetts.
To facilitate this, all pre-clinical and graduate programs will be remote the week after spring break.
All students are asked to be back in Massachusetts and in their usual residence by the evening of Sunday, March 21, and must be back no later than Monday, March 22. If you have left the state, you will require one negative test to come out of the Massachusetts quarantine (i.e. Monday, March 22). Your second negative test should be no earlier than Thursday, March 25 and no later than one day before you are required to return to campus (leaving enough time for the test result to get back).
Faculty and staff are expected to follow a similar testing regimen for return to campus if they leave Massachusetts and stay with non-household members or engage in other high-risk activities. Email cummingscovid@tufts.edu for specific guidance.
The recent MA Travel Order (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order) has understandably created some confusion, with its requirements and exemptions. The following definitions are helpful in understanding what you need to do under different circumstances:
What does the order say?
Travel to or from a MA-designated low-risk state, at the time of travel, will not result in a stay-off-campus request, provided you do not engage in high-risk activities (e.g. group events, fail to social distance, engage in group activities without a mask, eating regularly in restaurants, etc.).
If you engage in high-risk activities while traveling to MA-designated low-risk states, please contact Cummingscovid@tufts.edu for advice on required testing prior to return to campus.
Travel to a high-risk state or international travel will result in a stay-off-campus order and specific guidelines on what testing requirements are needed for return to campus. Please email cummingscovid@tufts.edu for guidance. Our general guidelines are outlined below:
Use of public transit, provided you follow all the precautions, wear a mask, and physical distance, will not lead to a stay-off-campus request. This includes train or bus to get to campus, which we have previously requested be avoided unless necessary and an exemption has been granted.
If dependent care challenges prevent you from returning to campus or fulfilling your position expectations at home, please contact your chair or supervisor and HR (Lucia Hackett).
Unable to complete work at home and not enough work in your regular role on campus
We ask faculty and staff to be considerate when taking vacations that will require self-quarantine or a stay-off-campus request on return. Please be proactive in ensuring that any self-quarantines or stay-off-campus requests needed on return do not interfere with your ability to fulfill work obligations on campus. Please work with your department chair or supervisor and/or relevant clinic/hospital director/section head well in advance to manage your schedules appropriately.
Report an instance of a student, faculty member, staff member, or outside contractor failing to follow COVID-19 mitigation policies using this Qualtrics link.
Your report will be recorded anonymously.
For questions about testing, travel, or health, please email Cummingscovid@tufts.edu. Nurses will be responding between 10 am and 2 pm to the majority of questions. The mailbox is monitored from roughly 6 am to 9 pm, and we respond in a timely manner when required.
Any concerns or questions regarding COVID-19 Policies and Guidelines should be forwarded to Dean Alastair Cribb.