Respiratory Illnesses

We strongly encourage you to get tested for COVID-19 either through Health Service or a home test kit to confirm whether you have COVID-19. Rapid test kits are available through Health Service, the Office of Residential Life and hall/apartment staff for students who live on campus. All Minnesotans can also order free at home COVID test from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Minimize interactions with people until you can be tested. Please wear an N95-type mask for a total of 10 days from the start of your exposure or start of symptoms. N95 masks are available through Health Service, the Office of Residential Life and hall/apartment staff for students who live on campus.

CDC info for isolation

You should isolate and follow public health guidance.

Take the following steps.

• Inform your roommates or other people you have had really close contact with.
• Decide whether you will isolate on campus or off campus.
  • If you do not share a bedroom, you can isolate in your own space. You should only leave your bedroom to use the bathroom, obtain or prepare food, or seek medical attention. You must wear an N95-type mask whenever you leave your bedroom and keep as much distance as possible from others when outside of your bedroom. Health Service and Residential Life have N95-type masks available if you do not have a supply.
  • If you share a bedroom with someone else, and they are currently positive or have had COVID in the last 30 days, you may stay in your room.
  • If you share a bedroom with someone who does not test positive, you and your roommate should discuss if one of you has another place to stay for a few days (for example, a friend or family member who lives nearby). If neither of you has an alternative space available, the person needing isolation should contact hall staff or the staff person on duty to see if an emergency space on campus is available.
• Contact your healthcare provider or Health Service for any medical questions related to isolation.

CDC info for exposure

Close contact is defined as being within six feet of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for 15 minutes or more while they were infectious. You may be informed by the person directly.

Take the following actions.

• Contact your healthcare provider or Health Service for any medical questions.  
• Wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested on day 6.  

If you live on campus and have a meal plan and need to isolate, but would like to order a meal from the Dining Hall, look at the daily menu for the Dining Hall.

• Review the menu and choose your options for each meal.
• Email your requests to both Tony Nemmers and Gena Wohlers.
• For lunch, email your order to Tony and Gena by 9 a.m.  Include the items you want and an expected pick up time.
• For dinner, email your order to Tony and Gena by 3 p.m. Include the items you want and an expected pick up time.
• For breakfast, email your order in the night before. Include the items you want and an expected pick up time.  

The meals will be prepared and packed by the Sodexo staff and will be placed in a cubby marked for pick up at the Dining Hall entrance. A student can mask and go over to pick their food up or can send a friend to pick it up.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year.

People who have the flu often feel some or all of these signs and symptoms:

• Fever* or feeling feverish/chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (very tired)
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

Most experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person might also get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or possibly their nose.

You may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick. Some people, especially young children and people with weakened immune systems, might be able to infect others for an even longer time.

The time from when a person is exposed to flu virus to when symptoms begin is about 1 to 4 days, with an average of about 2 days.

Complications of flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes.

Anyone can get the flu (even healthy people), and serious problems related to the flu can happen at any age, but some people are at high risk of developing serious flu-related complications if they get sick. This includes people 65 years and older, people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), pregnant women, and young children.

The first and most important step in preventing flu is to get a flu vaccination each year. CDC also recommends everyday preventive actions (like staying away from people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes and frequent handwashing) to help slow the spread of germs that cause respiratory (nose, throat, and lungs) illnesses, like flu.

• Centers for Disease Control
• University of Minnesota Boynton Health
• MN Dept of Health-Flu information