Daily COVID-19 Screening Required for UK Community
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 7, 2020) —As the University of Kentucky prepares to make it easy to be safe this fall, all members of the community are asked to remember a simple idea: Protect. Respect. Do your part.
As part of those efforts, all students and employees who come on to campus will be required to complete a COVID-19 screening, every day, seven days a week. Completion of this screening is necessary to remain in compliance with university policy. Individuals will be required to begin completing the screening on the first day of classes, Aug. 17.
The daily screener is quick and easy. It takes less than 3-5 seconds if you don’t have symptoms. In some cases, it takes less than 60 seconds if students are reporting symptoms.
This screening is not only a means to keep the community safe, but another way for individuals to be mindful of their symptoms.
All members of the UK community, including students, faculty and staff, who come onto campus will complete this screening, using their linkblue login. More instructions will be communicated next week.
If individuals indicate they have no symptoms or known exposure, they will be free to continue with their daily schedules. Students who indicate they are experiencing symptoms or who have had exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be contacted by a member of the UK Health Corps, provided with resources and support and asked to return to their residence halls or off-campus residences to monitor their symptoms.
Employees who indicate they are experiencing symptoms or who have had exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 also will be contacted by a member of the UK Health Corps, provided with resources and support and asked to remain home to monitor their symptoms.
Important information about student screening:
- Students who do not complete their daily screenings will be contacted by a member of the UK Health Corps. If, following communication from the UK Health Corps, the student does not complete the daily screening, the case will be forwarded to the Dean of Students and the Office of Student Conduct for further behavioral action according to the Student Code of Conduct.
- Students who experience symptoms should contact University Health Service or their primary care provider to make a telehealth appointment and schedule a COVID test. For additional questions or concerns, contact Health Corps at 859-218-SAFE (7233) or email HealthCorps@uky.edu.
- Students who study or work at the University of Kentucky Medical Campus will be required to complete the UK HealthCare screening process when entering UK HealthCare facilities. For situations in which students work or study in both campus and health care facilities, they will be required to complete both screening applications. UK HealthCare will communicate with students for whom this applies.
- The University of Kentucky non-medical campus and its facilities, buildings and classrooms will not be utilizing checkpoints, passes or digital receipts of symptoms to enter buildings, facilities or classes.
Important information about employee screening:
- Employees who have received approval to work fully remotely need to update their work location in myUK Employee Self Service. Employees who update their work location as remote in myUK will be excluded from the daily screening notifications.
- Individuals who will work on-site at any frequency must complete the daily attestation and will be reminded daily. Employees who fail to complete the attestation after three consecutive days will appear on a report sent to their supervisors. Supervisors should use this report to recommunicate the daily screening expectation with their employees, identify any barriers to completing the daily screening, resolve those barriers and coach the employees to complete the screening daily.
- Employees who fail to complete the daily screening for five consecutive days will appear on a report sent to the appropriate senior leader.
- All UK employees should monitor their health. If an individual is not feeling well, it is important to stay home and consult with a health care provider.
For questions related to screening, testing and tracing, contact UK Health Corps at healthcorps@uky.edu or 859-218-SAFE(7233). For any other questions related to returning to reinvented operations, please email coronavirus@uky.edu.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.