COVID-19 Emergency Notifications

May 28

To all members of the Wichita State University community:

The welfare and safety of our community during this time is WSU’s primary concern. We are writing to inform you of a recent development relating to COVID-19.

We recently learned that a WSU employee working on campus has tested positive for COVID-19. WSU officials acted quickly to follow appropriate protocols in response to this information.  This includes directly notifying all known individuals to have had direct exposure to this individual in institution programs, employment or activities; and following CDC and EEOC guidelines in cleaning protocols, social distancing and implementing remote work requirements for those at risk for exposure. We will continue to take steps to help protect the health and safety of our community.

We understand that there may be many questions as it relates to this report, but we must ask that you respect the privacy of this individual. 

We also take this opportunity to remind our community of some important information regarding COVID-19. In an effort to slow the spread of the virus, we are requesting your immediate attention to and compliance with the health-authority-recommended practices – not only to ensure your own well-being, but the well-being of others that can be found on the Student Health Services COVID-19 page.  The CDC website and Sedgwick County COVID-19 website contain all current recommendations for this evolving situation.

Please know that we will be monitoring daily updated guidance and information to determine appropriate action. Regarding events and other campus-based programs, we will be keeping you informed about developments occurring in order to minimize the spread of the virus.  This is not a time to panic. It is, however, a time to be attentive, flexible, serious, and engaged regarding the steps we need to take as a community to care for ourselves and for one another. Please be attentive to WSU communications addressing COVID-19 and additional steps we will be taking to address this rapidly evolving situation.

When a university employee or student tests positive, Sedgwick County Health Department shall initiate contact tracing and will get in touch with anyone it identifies as a close contact. Close contact, according to the CDC’s most recent guidance, means prolonged contact (15 minutes or more) with an individual with confirmed COVID-19 or direct contact with that individual’s infectious secretions or excretions. If you are not a close contact, you have no special precautions to take at this time, though everyone should follow prevention measures to keep themselves healthy. These measures include practicing good hygiene and social distancing, wearing a face covering, monitoring your health, and staying home if you are sick.

We have adopted practices to alert members of our community, including our students, employees, and campus partners, if the university has knowledge of potential COVID-19 exposure. The university relies heavily on employees to let us know if they believe they may have COVID-19. We also work in close coordination with the Sedgwick County Health Department, which conducts contact tracing and notifies those who are in close contact with any person that has tested positive for COVID-19.

The university will not be releasing the name of any employee or student that tests positive for COVID-19 to the general community. Employee and patient confidentiality laws prohibit the university from disclosing this information. We appreciate your understanding of these privacy limitations. Any employees who become aware of the identity of any such individual should respect that person’s privacy and abide by all privacy rules related to personal information. The university will provide periodic updates regarding COVID-19 cases and will contact those that may be at risk for exposure. The university will not, however, issue notifications with each individual case.

WSU is following CDC, EEOC, and other related federal and state guidance on the handling of potential and actual positive COVID-19 cases. WSU is and will remain committed to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of our entire campus community. WSU is taking the following steps with regard to any employee or student who tests positive for COVID-19:

• Isolate any identified individual who has tested positive.
• Contact (or facilitate contact through the Sedgwick County Health Department) any individual believed to be at risk for exposure and ask the individual to self-quarantine. 
• Conduct a risk assessment to determine an action plan. This may include providing a recommendation about self-isolation and providing related assistance, as well as notifying additional individuals or groups who were in close contact.  
• Evaluate specific locations where the individual worked or spent time on campus to initiate cleaning and disinfection of those spaces in accordance with guidance from the CDC. Cleaning and disinfection efforts are tailored to individual situations and focus on personal offices or common rooms frequented by people who tested positive. When a situation warrants, the university will close all or part of a building for disinfection, notifying the occupants of that building in advance as appropriate.