COVID-19 Case Investigation Protocol—October 2021
Brooklyn College requires staff, faculty, researchers, and anyone else who has been on campus to report positive cases to the college using the confidential COVID-19 Case Collection Form. The college also receives information about any positive cases through the on-campus testing program platform, CLEARED4. This information is collected and communicated through the CUNY dashboard.
College Notification of a Positive Case
If a student tests positive or has symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and it is reported more than 48 hours after the positive test or the student developing symptoms, the following steps are taken:
- Student Affairs contacts the student as soon as possible. Depending on when the report is submitted (evening, weekend, etc.), it may take up to 12 hours to contact the student after the submission.
- Student Affairs advises the student that 10 days isolation is required for all individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. If the student has symptoms, isolation must extend at least 24 hours after having no fever (without fever-reducing medication) and with all symptoms improving. During the contact, Student Affairs determines the following:
- Details of the test if it was conducted outside the CUNY system.
- The date of the student’s last presence on campus and his or her next scheduled visit to campus.
- The student’s location on his or her last day on campus, whether in class or a center, or at an event or activity. If the student was in class, was the class a lecture or lab/studio? Can the student identify close contact(s) and/or supply any other helpful information? Were there any staff or faculty interactions?
- Administration then queries the following information systems:
- CUNYfirst to confirm student’s schedule
- CLEARED4 to confirm status and time on campus
- Computer reservation systems
- Attendance records
- Ticket sales and seating charts
- Students may choose to divulge their medical status to instructors. Instructors should urge students to report a case formally, using the Case Collection Form. Instructors must also submit a report to the college, using the Case Collection Form.
- Student Affairs provides the student with guidance on isolating, disables his or her campus access, and reports the case to CUNY.
- If fewer than three days have elapsed since the student was on campus, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) advises Public Safety and Custodial Services to secure the student’s campus location and provide additional cleaning and disinfection.
Close Contact Determination
If the student was on campus fewer than 48 hours prior to a positive test or developing symptoms, a contact tracing/investigation will be conducted. This includes the following:
- “Close contact” is defined as an individual who spent a total of 10 minutes or more within six feet of a positive student or a student suspected of being positive during the 48 hours prior to that student obtaining a positive test or developing symptoms. Use of a mask by either of the parties is not considered when making this determination.
- Student Affairs works with EHS to establish the plan for tracing all contacts of the individual while on campus, in accordance with New York State Contact Tracing. This may involve reaching out to instructors, department chairs, and program directors to determine class configurations, class activities, and/or student-to-student, student-to-staff, or student-to-faculty interactions.
- Student Affairs interviews the student to identify all possible close contacts.
- In a small number of cases, the student cannot recall or name close contacts with certainty. In these cases, Student Affairs works with EHS to decide whether to broaden the number of close contacts (e.g., entire class population, event participants, audience, etc.).
- The COVID-19 liaison and/or campus coordinator must adhere to workplace and medical privacy laws and protections. The college may divulge only that a COVID-positive student has been identified and/or that an exposure has occurred.
Close Contact Notifications
EHS sends an e-mail notification to campus community members identified as close contacts. The notification states that an exposure has occurred. It does not share names or other personal information that may identify the positive individual.
The e-mail includes the following CUNY guidelines for possible exposure:
- Unvaccinated close contacts are required to self-quarantine for 10 days.
- Fully vaccinated close contacts are required to get tested three to five days after the exposure and will not be allowed on campus until after receiving a negative test result.
The notification is also sent to campus leadership.
When a student volunteers that he or she tested positive or should faculty become aware of a positive case among their students, faculty should not discuss the case with the student but should instruct the student to report the case to COVID-19 campus liaisons (Human Resources, Student Affairs) and coordinators (senior vice president for finance and administration, director of EHS) or the president’s cabinet.
Class Modality Change
If EHS and Student Affairs determine that a class needs to be placed online (e.g., all or most students in a class are close contacts), the faculty member will be informed and asked to notify all students that the class has been placed online.
Return to in-person instruction depends on the availability of an in-person instructor for the class.
Instructors who become aware of a positive student associated with a class may assume that the in-person class/activity should proceed without change unless notified otherwise.
Campus Access Management
The COVID-19 campus liaisons and coordinators review a log of positive cases and close contacts on a weekly basis and monitor program effectiveness, including alerts to close contacts.
Campus access for affected individuals is disabled via BC Navigator or CLEARED4, pending clearance for return to campus per CUNY guidelines and the college’s Returning Safely Together website.
