Healthy Restart FAQs Answered Sept. 24 for UK Faculty, Staff and Students
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2020) — With University of Kentucky now offering in-session classes again, the university continues to field questions related to specific elements of the campus restart plan. Listed below are answers to some of the questions most commonly asked by university faculty and staff.
Q: How should managers have conversations with employees about the requirement to wear a mask?
A: Managers have an important role in supporting their employees in building new healthy habits in the workplace. Guidance on how to have constructive conversations on mask-wearing requirements is available here.
Q: As a supervisor, what should I do if one of my employees is coughing or displaying other concerning symptoms?
A: Only a medical professional can diagnose an illness and provide care instructions. However, supervisors can err on the side of caution by advising employees who are displaying symptoms of illness to contact their health care provider or Live Health Online telehealth/online services. If an employee is not well enough to work — whether at their office/work location or remotely — he or she should request sick leave if applicable.
Q: What should I do if an employee shows signs of illness but does not want to go home?
A: Please call HR Employee Relations at 859-257-8758 to discuss the situation and evaluate the circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
Additionally, managers and supervisors should not pressure anyone who is ill to come to work. Employees who are well should not be persuaded to stay away from work for reasons such as race, ethnicity, home location, having cared for a sick family member (without any indication of COVID-19) or recent travel to unaffected areas.
Phase I and II testing of students by Wild Health ended Aug. 30. As of Sept. 23, UK is reporting 507 current active cases and 1,195 recovered cases among students. As of Sept. 20, 31,124 tests have been conducted with students, including 1,298 positive tests and 29,815 negative tests. For information on testing results, visit: www.uky.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-data-dashboard.
For more information related to University of Kentucky's COVID-19 response and restart plan, visit www.uky.edu/coronavirus/, including more FAQs at www.uky.edu/coronavirus/employees/employee-faqs.
Each day UK will be providing some of the most frequently asked questions from students, faculty and staff and answering them as we start the new semester. If you have questions you would like to see answered, please email coronavirus@uky.edu. We will continue to answer those on an individual basis, but may also include them in UKNow. Thanks and stay safe and healthy.