Welcome to February IC! Heading into our first week of in-person classes, check out this week’s COVID-19 Intercom column as we continue to be #ICinThisTogether.
Don’t Let the Super Bowl Be a Super Spreader
This Sunday marks one of the most-watched television events of the year when the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet in the Super Bowl. This annual event often involves gatherings to catch not only the action on the field, but the funny advertisements and Halftime Show. However, with COVID still prevalent, please carefully consider your celebration.
It is best to turn your in-person watch party to a virtual gathering to avoid close contact with others. If you are planning to watch with others, limit your watch party to those in your own household. Remember that New York State prohibits indoor gatherings of more than 10 individuals. If you must invite others, wear a face covering and stay at least six feet apart from one another.
For on-campus students, only residents from your residence hall are able to access your building and there should be no visiting in between rooms. Common spaces in your residence hall are also available, but again remember to adhere to COVID-19 protocols outlined in the IC Community Agreement.
Let’s not let the Super Bowl become a Super Spreader for our Bomber Bubble!
Establishing a Testing Rhythm
As the semester gets going, you should be starting to establish a routine to your surveillance testing. All students living within Tompkins County whether on-campus, off-campus, commuting or studying fully remote must participate in testing twice per week. Students are encouraged to adopt a set schedule of Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday. All faculty and staff regularly accessing campus are required to test either weekly or every other week, based on the level of contact with others they have while on campus. All samples should be turned in prior to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday in order to be counted for that day.
How to Access Your IC Health Badge
We recently launched the “IC Health Badge”, an easily accessible way for students to display compliance with staying up-to-date on completing your Daily Health Screening and surveillance testing. Students may be expected to display their badge when accessing particular on-campus spaces.
Access your IC Health Badge by visiting myichealthcenter.ithaca.edu. You must login using your IC Netpass email and password. Once on the landing screen, navigate to the tab which says “Show Badge” to display your current status. Be on the lookout for more information on this system in the coming days.