COVID 19 / WFH

Mask Update Starting March 11

| Emily Keeler
Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, March 11, masks will be optional in most indoor spaces on The Ohio State University campuses, including residence halls, dining facilities, classrooms, offices and the Ohio Union.
While the university continues to require masks in clinical health care settings (including at the Wexner Medical Center), COVID-19 testing locations, child care centers and on public transportation, Ohio State will be lifting indoor mask requirements in its academic and general-purpose buildings.
For most spaces, the updated masking policy will take effect at 6 p.m. on March 11, with the start of the university’s spring break. Public events, such as those that take place at the Schottenstein Center and the Covelli Center, are mask optional, effective immediately.
Throughout the pandemic, the university has followed guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health as well as federal, state and local policy. Ohio State’s updated masking policy reflects improving COVID-19 case counts after the Omicron surge, the high vaccination rate of the university community and the lifting of mask requirements in many jurisdictions, including the city of Columbus this week.
In settings where masks are optional, students, faculty, staff and visitors can decide on an individual basis whether or not they will continue to wear a mask – unless they are Wexner Medical Center employees who received an exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement. Those employees must wear a mask inside any medical center facility. The university continues to distribute masks at various locations on campus.
More than 93% of university community members are vaccinated, and 25% have reported that they have received a booster shot to enhance their protection against COVID-19. The positivity rate among those in Ohio State’s COVID-19 testing program has steadily improved throughout the semester. As of March 6, the seven-day average positivity rate was 0.6%, down from 8.5% on Jan. 19.
Ohio State continues to urge all members of the community to take necessary precautions against COVID-19, including receiving all vaccination and booster shots for which they are eligible. Through the first week of April, students, faculty and staff who report their booster shots to the university are eligible for prizes in the Buckeye Booster Drawing.
The university will continue to adjust COVID-19 measures as appropriate based on science as well as guidance from national, state and local agencies.
For now, the university will maintain its COVID-19 surveillance testing program, which includes weekly testing of students in university housing, in social fraternities and sororities, and with approved exemptions to the university’s vaccination requirement. Employees with approved exemptions are also required to test weekly.
Individuals should stay home if they are feeling sick and follow CDC guidelines if they test positive for COVID-19 or are exposed to someone with the virus. These guidelines include wearing a mask for at least 10 days.
Specifics of the university’s mask policy are posted on the Personal Safety Practices page of the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website. Under the updated policy, masks must continue to be worn indoors in the following settings:
  • In clinical settings where patient interactions occur – including at the Wexner Medical Center, the Wilce Student Health Center and other health care clinics. This includes corridors, lobbies and nursing stations of the hospital and ambulatory clinics.
  • At COVID-19 testing centers, including Jesse Owens North.
  • In child care centers, including the Nisonger Center at the Wexner Medical Center.
  • And on transportation, including CABS and shuttle buses.

 

COVID reporting and drawing information

| Emily Keeler

Employees required to report vaccine information by Aug. 5
To make informed decisions related to COVID-19 and further enable contact tracing, Ohio State is requiring students, faculty and staff to report whether or not they have been vaccinated by Aug. 5. Please use the employee vaccination reporting form. Your personal health information will not be shared publicly or directly with instructors, managers or leaders.
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Enter the Vaccination Prize Drawing now
Enter the Vaccination Prize Drawing to be eligible for cash prizes, parking passes or season tickets to Ohio State football home games. You must be completely vaccinated and have reported your vaccination status to be eligible.  The deadline for the first of four weekly drawings is Aug. 8 at 11:59:59 p.m. Winners of the first drawing will be announced Aug. 12. Those who enter by Aug. 8 will have more chances to win.
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Change to daily health reporting requirement

| Emily Keeler
Effective immediately, Ohio State students, faculty and staff are no longer required to complete the daily health check when they are well. All employees should stay home instead of coming to work if they are experiencing symptoms of illness. Please note that Wexner Medical Center faculty and staff, as well as students with clinical responsibilities in hospital facilities, are required to use the Ohio State app or compass.osu.edu to report if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms prior to their scheduled workday. Daily reporting is not required when they are well or on days where they are not scheduled to work. All students, faculty and staff must follow all other Safe and Healthy Buckeyes personal safety practices to limit the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses.
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Book your COVID-19 vaccination today

| Emily Keeler

Help us end this pandemic by joining the millions who are already vaccinated against COVID-19. Now’s the time to schedule your vaccination appointment.

Why?

At Ohio State, we offer two convenient ways to schedule your appointment:

  1. Log in to your MyChart account. Go to the Appointments section and look for the “COVID-19 Vaccine” option. Don’t have a MyChart account? Sign up now.
  2. Call 614-688-8299 (VAXX), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You can also check coronavirus.ohio.gov to find COVID-19 vaccination availability at other health care providers or clinics.

With COVID-19 cases on the rise in some Ohio counties, getting your vaccine is more important than ever. Don’t wait to schedule your appointment — book your vaccination today.

Dedicated vaccine appointments

| Emily Keeler
The university is asking every eligible student, faculty and staff member to be vaccinated and to follow all other safe and healthy guidelines. In partnership with the state of Ohio and Gov. Mike DeWine, beginning today, the university is dedicating a portion of the first-dose vaccine appointments at the Schottenstein Center Vaccine Station to any Ohio State student, faculty or staff member. In addition, the state has also worked to secure additional supply of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine specifically for university students. To schedule a vaccination appointment via the Wexner Medical Center — including appointments that have been set aside for students, faculty and staff — log into MyChart or call 614-688-VAXX (8299). For more information or to sign up to “Get Notified” when new appointment times are posted, see the Wexner Medical Center website.
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Weekly testing available to faculty and staff working on campus regularly

| Emily Keeler
Beginning today, asymptomatic faculty and staff who are regularly working on the Columbus campus can schedule weekly COVID-19 testing at Jesse Owens North Recreation Center via MyChart. This new testing program is available due to increased capacity at the university’s Applied Microbiology Services Laboratory (AMSL) and is meant to provide employees with an additional testing option and critical information to help themselves and members of their household feel safe. This program is not meant for intermittent, mid-quarantine or symptomatic testing. As a reminder, regional campus employees who are working in person are encouraged to test on their campuses each week.
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Tackling Challenges with Coach Day: Mental Health During a Pandemic

| Emily Keeler

Join us for “Tackling Challenges with Coach Day: Mental Health During a Pandemic,” a virtual keynote address with Coach Ryan Day, on Thursday February 25 at 4:30 p.m.

Hear from Coach Day as he discusses the importance of breaking the stigma of mental health, while sharing how mental health has affected him personally and recognizing the mental health challenges we all face during the pandemic. Coach Day will also be answering questions attendees submit ahead of time. You can submit your questions at go.osu.edu/CoachDayQuestions.

Registration is required to attend. All Ohio State students, staff and faculty can register using Zoom.

Supporting caregivers during COVID-19

| Emily Keeler

Supporting caregivers during COVID-19
The disruptions of COVID-19 threaten to increase gender inequities by limiting women’s time and access to childcare. This summer, The Women’s Place conducted a university-wide survey to assess these gendered impacts. Visit our website for survey results and to learn practical tips for supporting employees and students as caregivers during the pandemic.
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On Campus Opportunities to Give Blood

| Emily Keeler