By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

While wearing masks, washing hands frequently, virtual gatherings and distancing yourself 6 feet away may feel second nature by now, arriving on campus will bring more health-related measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

SUNY Oswego’s “Oswego Forward” plan (ww1.oswego.edu/oswego-forward) states that in addition to a pre-arrival screening no sooner than seven days of arriving on campus, the school requires daily health screenings before leaving a residence, whether the student lives on or off campus.

Anyone not feeling well because of COVID-19 symptoms should self-quarantine and seek health care. Any student testing positive for COVID-19 should notify SUNY Oswego’s Student Health Services immediately.

In the residence halls, students may or may not elect to join a Pod. This is a social quarantine group of up to 10 students, which provides a means of family-style socializing without widespread mingling.

Wearing masks that cover the mouth and nose is required except when eating and drinking, alone, and with roommate, or assigned Pod members. The school will provide two free cloth face masks to each students and other PPE and maintain a supply of replacement masks.

Any student with a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees F. or exhibiting symptoms of fever, chills, cough, breathing difficulties, headache, sore throat, muscle/joint aches, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea or vomiting, nasal congestion/runny nose or new loss of taste or smell should remain at home or in the dorm if a residential student.

At Cayuga Community College (www.cayuga-cc.edu/coronavirus/index.html), health measures include the expected mask wearing, hygiene and social distancing, as well as daily screening at the one entry point of the campus. (The campus now has one entry point and one exit.) The screening will include a thermal temperature scan and a symptom surveillance system. The dean of students and health services will be notified of any students failing the screening. Students will need to log in and log out of campus daily. If a student tests positive for COVID-19, this measure will enable the school to notify exposed students.

Wearing masks that cover the mouth and nose is required except when eating and drinking, alone, and with roommate, or assigned Pod members.

The school will provide disposable masks to anyone arriving without their own. Masks must be work when six feet of social distancing can’t be maintained or while using common areas on campus.

Any students who have tested positive for COVID-19, who have had close contact with someone who is infected or who feel ill, should follow CDC guidance to self-isolate off campus.

Students with questions about COVID-19 policies should check their school’s website or reach out the appropriate school designated representative.