COVID-19 Symptoms, Testing, and Contact Tracing

If you feel sick, please stay home and seek medical care (see the next section for detailed instructions). If you feel any symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19, please report your symptoms by logging into Loyola's Public Health Portal. If you cannot access the portal, please email covid@loyno.edu to report your symptoms.

Common symptoms of COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

If you’re showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone

How to Access Loyola’s Public Health Portal

You can go directly to the portal or access it at any time through the “Quick Links” page once you log into your Single Sign On (SSO) by selecting the “Medicat Public Health Portal” from the options. 

You will be asked to log into the portal using the following credentials:

• Username: Your full Loyola email address (xxxxxxxx@my.loyno.edu)
• Password: a. If you have reset your Loyola Microsoft password, use it to get access to Loyola's public health portal. If you forgot it, go to Office.com and select "forgot password" b. The default password for new students is the first letter of your first name, the first letter of your last name, your birthday, and then an LU (abmmddyyyyLU) You will be forced to change your password when first logging into office.com. c. Returning students will use the old default password - the first two letters of your first name, the last four digits of your social security number, then LU (abXXXXLU) Once you set up your Microsoft account, then you can access the Loyola Health Portal. Remember: When you change your Microsoft password, it will change on the Public Health Portal too.

If you need assistance, please email support@loyno.edu using your Loyno email address or call the Help Desk at 504.865.2255.

If you’re feeling sick, the trained medical staff at Student Health Services and our partners at Ochsner Health are here to help you! The Student Health Services staff includes trained Registered Nurses (RN) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) who can offer guidance. 

Call a Healthcare Provider  

Students who are feeling symptoms of COVID-19 should call Student Health Services (SHS) at 504.865.3326, available Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. To help create a safe environment for everyone on campus, no one will be permitted into the Student Health Clinic without an appointment. No walk-ins allowed. If it is the weekend or after business hours, call the Ochsner COVID-19 Info Hotline at 844.888.2772.

Faculty and staff should contact their preferred medical provider or call the Ochsner COVID-19 Info Hotline at 844.888.2772.

Ochsner Anywhere Care 

You can talk with a doctor safely from your home by downloading the Ochsner Anywhere Care app. Get 24/7 access to virtual urgent care services via your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Urgent care visits are free of charge for Loyola students, faculty, and staff with the following codes: LUSTUDENT, LUSTAFF, and LUFACULTY

Testing is available by appointment at the Student Health Clinic to students, faculty, and staff who are feeling symptoms of COVID-19 or have been notified of exposure. There are also many testing options available across the city at local urgent care facilities and community testing sites. Use the resources below to find a testing site convenient for you, and make sure you check with the location to determine if an appointment is required. 

Recommended COVID-19 Testing Locations 

Additional testing locations near campus:

• Walgreens (718 Maple and S. Carrollton) - schedule online
• Walgreens (2418 S. Carrollton Ave.) - schedule online
• CVS (4401 S. Claiborne Ave.) - schedule online

At-home COVID tests:

Take-home COVID-19 tests are available at most local pharmacies and online. The United States government is providing free at-home tests to all households. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 2 sets of 4 free at-⁠home tests. If you already ordered your first set, order a second today. 

Order At-Home Tests

Don’t forget to check the expiration date on your at-home test before using it. You might have a test at home that’s passed its expiration date, but if you call the company or check the FDA website, it may have been extended. Be sure to follow all test instructions and make sure the control line shows up quickly, which is an indicator that the test is still working.

Positive COVID-19 Test Result

If you receive a positive COVID-19 test result, please contact SHS immediately to complete a mandated isolation period (see section below). 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 

To constitute exposure, you have to be less than 6 feet away from someone for 15 minutes or more cumulatively over a 24-hour period starting from 48 hours (or 2 days) before that person had any symptoms or tested positive. 

Contact Tracing

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), a local business where you spent time, or a Loyola public health coordinator. Contact tracers are limited in what they are allowed to communicate on your voicemail and their numbers change constantly, so it is very important to answer phone calls from unknown numbers. 

If you are notified of exposure, please report your exposure using the Medicat Public Health Portal. You can also report potential exposure anonymously using this form:

 Anonymous Reporting Form

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. You can provide names and their contact information, and contact tracers will follow up while protecting confidentiality. Student Health Services will follow normal protocols to advise faculty when students have health-related excused absences from class. 

What to Expect: Contact Tracing Interview

1. If you’re a student, your contract tracer will most likely also be a Loyola student, so don’t worry and just tell them everything you can remember. They’re just calling to ask some questions and provide guidance. If you’re a faculty or staff member, you will talk to a member of the Public Health Team who is your peer.
2. The interview will only take a few minutes for the contract tracer to gather all of the data, so it won’t eat up any of your time.
3. They will start by introducing themselves, and then informing you that you had been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
4. Next, they’ll ask if you’re aware of the case and if the person has already contacted you. FYI everything is anonymous, so they won’t share the person’s name, or your name.
5. Remember a close contact means, “less than 6 feet for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, including 3 five-minute exposures throughout the 24-hour span.” If your contact doesn’t meet this criteria, then the call will be over.
6. If your contact does meet this criteria, then the contact tracer will ask a few more questions regarding how you’re feeling and your quarantine situation.
7. On campus students will be quarantined in a dorm and provided meals, laundry services, and other assistance.
8. Remember TO BE HONEST. Even if your contact breaks the code of conduct, if you’re honest then you will be given medical amnesty and will NOT get in trouble.
9. If you forget to share something with the contract tracer there is an online form to submit an anonymous submission.
10. Working together with the contact tracers will help us track down, and slow, the spread of the virus.

What is Quarantine? 

Mandated quarantine means avoiding close contact with others and limiting activities after known exposure to COVID-19. All individuals at Loyola are required to report exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 on the Public Health Portal or by emailing covid@loyno.edu.

Loyola follows the latest guidelines released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for quarantine after known exposure to COVID-19. View the CDC guidelines.

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.

What Is Isolation?

Isolation means 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. 

• Stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom from other household members, if possible
• Don’t share personal household items that can be contaminated, like cups, towels, and utensils
• Wear a mask in the home when around other people if able

What to Do After Testing Positive

All Loyola community members, vaccinated and unvaccinated, are required to self-isolate following a positive test result. Report a positive COVID-19 test result on the Public Health Portal or by emailing covid@loyno.edu. 

Loyola follows the latest guidelines released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for isolation after a positive COVID-19 test result. View the CDC guidelines.

SHS staff will reach out to students in isolation daily to assess symptoms. Students must be cleared by SHS to leave isolation and return to campus.

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

Human Resources (Employees) 

Phone: 504.864.7757

Email: hr@loyno.edu

Anonymous Reporting (Employees) 

Use the Reportline, a toll-free number (855.312.9257) that you can call anytime from anywhere to anonymously report suspected unethical or inappropriate activity, e.g., fraud, waste, abuse, or violations of federal or state laws or Loyola New Orleans policy. Alternatively, you may enter reports anonymously online.