As the spring semester comes to an end, Ashland University and the student health center are continuing to make strides in keeping the community safe. With students and faculty returning to campus from spring break, another mass testing for COVID-19 was conducted at Redwood Hall.
“Overall, the number of actual tests that were submitted was 1,063; out of that number were two positive results.” Sheila Pryor, AU COVID-19 response coordinator said. This gives the school a 0.18 positivity rate on campus.
Though the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be in the rear-view mirror, other possible variants of the virus continue to spread throughout the world.
“A lot of the schools are expecting a spike soon,” Pryor said. “I have mass testing dates ready to roll for April 18-19.”
Students and faculty are also urged to complete and submit their medical and immunization records to the student health center through Med-Proctor in case of a positive COVID-19 test.
“If they are proactive, the whole process goes so much better,” Pryor said. “That way when they do call in and speak to one of the nurses, that information is readily available.”
Without current vaccination records, the student health center will have to put anyone who has been exposed to COVID-19 in quarantine. Registered nurse Patty Owens talks about communication between students regarding recent exposure to the virus.
“If we can’t get a hold of students], we go to Med-Proctor and check their vaccination status,” Owens said.
If an exposed student does not have their medical and immunizations records in the system, then the student health center needs to find that person quickly, because they don’t know if the student is vaccinated or not
“It is a requirement to turn in your health history and immunization records,” Owens said. “Prior to Med-Proctor, we had less than 25% of the students doing that.”
To create a new Med-Proctor account, go to medproctor.com and select register and type your Ashland University email address to get started. There is no charge for Med-Proctor services.
“We are not even 60 days out of masks and there are already people that are not mindful of their sneezing or their habits,” Pryor said. “People need to be accountable for their own personal actions and their hygiene, and if they are not then we are going to go backwards.”