Members of the SUNY Oswego community were informed via email on Sept. 12, 2022 that changes were made to the school’s COVID-19 guidance. These changes include updated COVID-testing regulations and the elimination of the SUNY Health Portal.
These updates come after new SUNY regulations were released. The updated regulations state that campuses are no longer required to report COVID-19 testing results daily through the SUNY health portal. Effective Sept. 9, 2022, SUNY decommissioned its COVID-19 tracker.
The SUNY policy also states that testing is recommended for people with symptoms of COVID-19 as soon as possible after symptoms begin. Campuses should make testing available for all students and employees who show symptoms or who are exposed to someone who tests positive.
Stated in an email from SUNY Oswego, it will be closing the on-campus testing center. Instead, it is suggested that students test at home with rapid tests. School officials are making rapid tests available at residence halls, the welcome center desk and the Mary Walker Health Center.
Students are still required to be vaccinated, unless they have a religious or medical exemption. These regulations are imposed by SUNY Oswego and are subject to change if necessary.
“Campuses, in their sole discretion, may at any time impose additional vaccine requirements, including a requirement for any boosters, for other campus activities including access to certain campus facilities,” according to the SUNY Oswego policy.
Campuses must maintain an appropriate level of isolation space for students who test positive for COVID-19 in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and the local health department. CDC Guidance indicates that individuals who are exposed to COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, no longer have to quarantine unless they are symptomatic.
Also, SUNY policy states that campuses must continue to monitor local conditions and determine if mask mandates are required. Campuses may continue to maintain the mask requirement in any venue or with any specific population on campus at their sole discretion. If it is determined that any element of the mask mandate will be changed, it must be clearly communicated with students and employees. Students at SUNY Oswego are still required to wear masks in on-campus health facilities.
These new updates have ended most of the COVID-19 regulations on campus, and SUNY Oswego officials left their email on a positive note.
“We stand with you and besides you in our continued efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 virus but also to learn to live with it as we work to provide you all with a safe, vibrant, and active living-learning environment where we can all thrive and grow,” according to the email sent to students.
More information about the updated COVID-19 guidance can be found at oswego.edu/oswego-forward.
Photo via The Oswegonian
