COVID-19 Prevention

New students planning to live on campus in the spring must complete the COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness Training using Canvas, our new online learning system. You can access the training in Canvas by signing into your Single Sign On (SSO) portal and entering your credentials. If you are a new student who has not yet set up your SSO you can find more information or watch this short video. 

Please note: If you are taking classes completely online and will not be coming to campus this semester, then you are not required to complete these tasks.

COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness Training

The COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness Training will feature short educational videos and quizzes to help familiarize you with the health and safety guidelines and your obligations while on campus. You’ll be asked to review the COVID Student Code of Conduct, sign a commitment to caring for our community, read about student health insurance information, and submit your COVID Positive Plan and Hurricane Evacuation Plan. 

COVID Positive Plan

The COVID Positive Plan will help you determine where you would like to complete a mandated isolation period if you test positive for coronavirus. We want you to feel comfortable and safe during this time, which is why you can choose from three different options. 

Option 1: Off-Campus Residence

You will isolate in your current off-campus residence. You will share your address and identify any Loyola students, faculty, or staff who reside with you in your plan.

Option 2: Parent/Guardian’s Home

You will return to your parent or guardian’s home to isolate. You must have a plan to drive or be picked up within 48 hours of your positive result. You’ll share your address and guardian name in your plan.

Option 3: Loyola COVID Isolation Ward  

You will stay in the university’s COVID isolation ward, which is only an option for on-campus residents. You will complete the Campus COVID-19 Housing Acknowledgement and share your housing assignment in your plan. 

Once you submit your plan, Student Health Services (SHS) will keep it on file and help you enact your plan immediately after a positive test result. 

As a member of the Loyola community, you are required to complete a health self-assessment every day using the #CampusClear app before arriving on campus. You will need to take your temperature daily, so be sure to add a thermometer to your packing list for school! 

These are the most common symptoms associated with COVID-19:

• Fever (100.4 degrees or higher)
• New cough
• Shortness of breath
• Congestion or runny nose (excluding seasonal allergies)
• Chills
• Unexplained fatigue 
• Muscle pains and body aches (unrelated to exercise)
• Headache (excluding migraines)
• Sore throat
• Digestive issues or diarrhea 
• Nausea or vomiting
• New loss of smell or taste

If you're feeling any of these identified symptoms of COVID-19, you should report them in the #CampusClear app accurately and follow the instructions on the screen. You should also report a positive test result or exposure to COVID-19 using the app. 

Learn More

The trained medical staff at Student Health Services and our partners at Ochsner Health are here to help you! A telehealth consultation is an important first step to discuss your symptoms with a medical professional. The Student Health Services staff includes trained Registered Nurses (RN) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) who can offer guidance.

Talk to a Health Care Provider 

To help create a safe environment for everyone on campus, no one will be permitted into the Student Health Clinic without an appointment. Do not go to the Student Health Clinic without completing a phone consultation first. 

When you complete a telehealth consultation, the health care provider will determine if a COVID test is recommended and direct you to a testing location. We offer rapid molecular testing (using the Abbott ID Now) at the Student Health Clinic, available by appointment. With this testing option, results are ready in 13 minutes or less. The cost without insurance is $185, but no one will be turned away due to costs. There is no cost to get rapid testing through the Student Health Clinic if you have health insurance. See details in the table below to make an appointment. 

Recommended COVID-19 Testing Locations 

Check out free asymptomatic testing options through the NOLA Ready website.

Awaiting Results

While waiting for the results, resident students will quarantine in designated “awaiting test results” rooms. Resident Life staff is available 24/7 to help students with this process. All other students should quarantine at home while waiting for results. 

Positive COVID-19 Test Result

If you receive a positive COVID-19 test result, please contact SHS immediately to enact your COVID Positive Plan and complete a mandated isolation period (see next section). SHS will offer detailed guidance to help you. 

Negative COVID-19 Test Result 

If test results are negative, you should follow the recommendations of your health care provider. 

Potential exposure to COVID-19 includes receiving a contact trace notification from a Loyola public health coordinator or the Louisiana Department of Health. It can also include spending time at a known hotspot or having close contact with a friend or family member who tests positive for COVID-19. 

Close contact is defined as being within less than 6’ for total of 15 minutes or more starting from 48 hours (or 2 days) before your contact had any symptoms or tested positive. If you meet this criteria, you must quarantine for 10-14 days from the incident of close contact. (See quarantine section below.)

Contact Trace Notification 

In some cases, you may not know you’ve been exposed to the virus until you receive a call from a contact tracer. In this scenario, you will receive a call from either the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) or a Loyola public health coordinator.

Answer Your Phone!

This means that it is very important to answer phone calls from unknown numbers during this time. Contact tracers are limited in what they are allowed to communicate on your voicemail, and lots of people have full voicemail boxes, and/or don’t check their voicemails. The phone numbers are changing constantly, so answer your phone, and empty your mailbox. 

If you are notified by LDH, please call a Loyola public health coordinator immediately. If it is after hours, you should contact LUPD.

There is no shame in getting a contact trace notification. We all face risk of exposure, and the contact tracer is here to help you. It’s important that you have an honest conversation with them about any symptoms you’re experiencing and people you have been in contact with. The contact tracer may ask for contact information for close contacts, but they will never identify you or share your health information with others.  

Please be honest with them! Loyola has implemented new amnesty policies specific to COVID-19 that state you will not receive any punitive sanctions for any information you disclose to contact tracers about where you’ve been, who you have seen, or what you’ve been doing. We can’t stress this enough, we would rather you be honest to keep more people safe than have anyone lie because you are afraid of getting in trouble. 

Contact tracing is a powerful tool to contain the spread of the virus. Please help do your part by cooperating with the health care representative! 

Mandated isolation involves remaining in your home or residence with zero public contact due to a positive COVID-19 test, with or without active symptoms. The amount of time in isolation will depend on the length of illness, presence of symptoms, and health care provider’s guidance. 

During this time, SHS staff will reach out daily to check in with you and assess your symptoms. Students in self-isolation should follow all recommendations of their health care provider, which may include hospitalization if a higher level of care is required. Examples of symptoms that require a higher level of care include hypoxia (low oxygen levels), shortness of breath, uncontrolled fever, and/or dehydration. 

Following CDC guidelines, if you test positive for COVID-19, you must self-isolate for 10 days from the date of test. You may return to normal activities after those 10 days and after you have had no fever (without fever-reducing medications) for 24 hours, and your other symptoms are improving. 

Students must be cleared by SHS to leave isolation and return to campus.

Steps to Take in Isolation

After receiving a positive COVID test result, contact tracing is an important step to help stop the spread of the virus. A Loyola public health coordinator will contact you and consult your class schedule to gather a list of Loyola students, professors, and employees you may have had contact with. Your contact information and health status will remain private. 

To help protect those around you during isolation, the CDC also recommends that you follow these guidelines:

• Stay in a separate room from other household members, if possible
• Use a separate bathroom, if possible
• Avoid contact with other members of the household and pets
• Don’t share personal household items, like cups, towels, and utensils
• Wear a cloth face covering when around other people, if you are able, and have others wear a face covering in your presence 

COVID Isolation Ward for Resident Students

If you are a resident student and choose to complete your mandated isolation period in the COVID isolation ward, you will be required to stay in your assigned room, except to use the restroom, for the duration of your isolation.

Explore the What to Expect in Quarantine/Isolation page to learn about the process for residential students completing isolation in the residential halls.

Mandated quarantine involves remaining in your home or residence with limited public contact due to potential exposure to COVID-19. Mandated Quarantine requires between 10-14 days of this limited contact, symptom-free, from the date of exposure. You must be cleared by the Loyola Public Health Team before you can leave quarantine.

Expectations of Mandated Quarantine

All students in quarantine will be expected to participate in their coursework remotely. 

All students in quarantine should contact Student Affairs at studentaffairs@loyno.edu to coordinate meal delivery while you are in quarantine. Meals will not be delivered to roommates of those in quarantine. 

Resident students completing a mandated quarantine on campus will quarantine in their own rooms. Roommates will not be relocated. 

• You may not leave your room except to use the restroom.
• You may not have visitors. 
• You must wear a face covering and maintain six feet of distance when in the presence of roommates. Roommates should also wear a mask. 

If you live off-campus with other people, stay six feet away from them, reduce your use of the kitchen, use your own bathroom if you can, or if you can’t, wipe down surfaces afterwards. During this time, you may or may not have COVID, and the goal in this scenario is to keep you from infecting others if you are asymptomatic. 

For more tips and resources, view the Quarantine Survival Guide created by Student Health and explore the What to Expect in Quarantine/Isolation page to learn about the process for residential students completing quarantine in the residential halls.

Have questions about any of these policies? We are eager to help you find the answers you need to feel safe and informed on campus. 

Student Health Services 

Phone: 504.865.3326 

Email: studenthealth@loyno.edu

Public Health Coordinator 

Phone: 504.865.3757

Email: covid@loyno.edu

Residential Life 

Phone: 504.865.2445 

Email: reslife@loyno.edu

Student Affairs

Phone: 504.865.3622

Email: studentaffairs@loyno.edu

Ochsner Health 

COVID-19 Info Hotline

844.888.2772

Want to learn more about health and safety on campus? Explore these pages.

COVID-19 Resources: A guide to reputable external resources for the latest updates and research about the novel coronavirus. 

Health and Safety: A full listing of Loyola’s health and safety policies for the Fall 2020 semester. 

Student Services: The on-campus experience will look different this year. Here’s what you can expect for the Fall 2020 semester.

Academics: Review changes to the academic calendar and classroom experience that will help keep everyone safe.