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:

• Your username is your full Loyola email address. For example: xxxxxxxx@my.loyno.edu  
• Your password is your Microsoft password. If you have changed your Microsoft password, use what you changed it to. If you have not yet changed your Microsoft password, the default password is the first two letters of your first name, followed by the last 4 digits of your social security number, then an uppercase LU. For example: abXXXXLU 

If you cannot sign in, go to office.com to reset your Microsoft password. 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

Rapid molecular 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 

Need a PCR Test? 

Here are some locations near campus that offer PCR testing if you are unvaccinated and need a test to go to a public venue in New Orleans:

• Walgreens (718 Maple and S. Carrollton) - schedule online
• Walgreens (2418 S. Carrollton Ave.) - schedule online
• CVS (4401 S. Claiborne Ave.) - schedule online
• Ochsner Urgent Care Uptown (4605 Magazine Street) - walk-ins accepted as available
• Other community sites at various locations - Nola Ready website

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 for at least 14 days after known exposure to COVID-19. See instructions below to determine when you need to quarantine if you are vaccinated vs. unvaccinated. 

Please note: Due to the high transmission rate of the Delta variant, everyone – vaccinated or unvaccinated – who lives in a household with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 or is currently experiencing symptoms of the virus should stay home and refrain from coming to campus. Report your exposure on the Public Health Portal immediately. 

Fully Vaccinated: What to Do After Exposure

Fully vaccinated individuals at Loyola are required to report exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.   

Symptomatic:

• Isolate immediately and get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

No Symptoms After Exposure:

• Get tested 3-5 days after exposure and submit proof of negative test
• Self monitor for symptoms for 14 days
• Wear a mask in public indoor settings for at least 14 days (or as required by current guidelines)

Fully vaccinated people who live in a household with someone who is immunosuppressed, at increased risk of severe disease, or unvaccinated (including children <12 years of age) should also consider masking at home for 14 days following a known exposure.

Most fully vaccinated people with no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine or be restricted from work following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, as long as they follow the testing and masking recommendation above.

Unvaccinated: What to Do After Exposure 

Unvaccinated individuals at Loyola are required to:

• Report exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
• Always wear a mask in public indoor settings
• Avoid close contact (keep 6 feet of physical distance) with others who are not fully vaccinated when possible

Symptomatic:

• Isolate immediately and get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

No symptoms with exposure:

• Complete a mandatory quarantine for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19
• Get tested 3-5 days after last exposure and submit proof of negative test  
• Be alert for symptoms and submit daily assessments that monitor for symptoms for 14 days

There will be no shortened quarantine for unvaccinated individuals unless you can provide proof of COVID-19 illness within the previous three months.

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. 

Symptomatic: 

• Isolate a full 10 days after the date the positive test sample was collected.
• You will need to be cleared by Student Health Services that symptoms are improving, and it has been at least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication. 

Asymptomatic: 

• Isolate 10 days from the date the positive test sample was collected.
• If you develop symptoms after testing positive during the 10 day isolation period, your isolation will be extended 10 days since symptoms first appeared. 

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.