Stay Home if You are Sick
All EWU employees and students who are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID, such as the symptoms identified below, should stay home and get tested for COVID.
- Scratchy or sore throat
- Runny nose or congestion
- Difficulty breathing
- New loss of taste or smell
- Fever
- Chills or repeated shaking with chills
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
Positive Test
If you have respiratory virus symptoms that are not better explained by another cause (such as allergies) or if you test positive for COVID-19 or another respiratory virus, follow CDC guidance for staying home and away from others; this includes people you live with who are not sick.
- You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:
- Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
- You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
- When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors. This is especially important to protect people with factors that increase their risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses.
- Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.
- If you develop a fever or you start to feel worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, both are true: your symptoms are improving overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Then take added precaution for the next 5 days.
For more information, please review the current CDC guidance found here:
Additional Questions or Concerns?
Students: please contact Counseling & Wellness Services at 509-359-2366 or cws@ewu.edu
Faculty & Staff: please contact Risk Management at riskmanager@ewu.edu
