BGSU recently released personal and community health requirements to ensure everyone’s safety from COVID-19. The first requirement on the ‘University Policies’ webpage is for community members, students and staff to do a self-administered wellness check, where each individual monitors their daily health for coronavirus symptoms.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, symptoms for COVID-19 include, fever or chills, coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle of body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that if individuals notice any symptoms, to immediately take their temperature. BGSU’s Personal and Community Health Requirements requires that if any person’s temperature is above 100.4 F or they feel any of the above symptoms, to self-isolate and avoid any university locations until cleared by a medical professional.
It’s also noted on ODH’s website, symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure. Those who suspect they have COVID-19 should self-quarantine for 14 days, starting from the last day they were in contact around others.
The CDC, Google and Apple have self-checkers for COVID-19 that will ask questions about individuals’ daily personal health. These self-checkers are available to anyone with access to the internet, but those without it should ask themselves similar questions that are on the self-checkers during a self-administered wellness check.
If anyone has correlative symptoms to COVID-19, but are unsure if they have it, they can take a self-test kit that detects COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration approved an at-home COVID-19 kit released by the Laboratory Corporation of America. LabCorp sends a nasal swab and individuals send their sample back to the lab. The lab gives results within two to three days, according to their website.
As self-administered wellness checks and self-test kits have limitations, always consult a medical professional about any concerns.
While BGSU requires students, staff and other community members to take self-administered wellness checks, the university is also setting forth other safety precautions. In the community and personal health requirements, the university requires everyone to wear face masks on campus, to social distance and to prioritize hygiene by washing their hands frequently.
According to BGSU, any students or employees unwilling to follow these requirements will result in a disciplinary action under the Code of Student Conduct.
