UB has implemented several guidelines and protocols to ensure that our campuses are safe for our faculty, staff and student employees.
Need help with UB's COVID-19 protocols for employees? Please contact:
UB has instituted a set of protocols for screening, testing and contract tracing to help us prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our campus community.
UB’s protocol for COVID-19 screening, testing, contact tracing and quarantine is based on:
All UB faculty, staff and volunteer faculty/staff who come to a UB or UBMD campus must omplete the Daily Health Check. If you are unable to use the text-based or web-based Daily Health Check, please complete the accessible form below every day you are on campus.
NOTE: All Visitors (e.g., invited guests, vendors) who are otherwise not affiliated with the university are required to complete the Daily Health Check prior to their arrival on campus. An accessible form for visitors is available here.
Please note that UB students, faculty and staff who are not required to complete the Daily Health Check are strongly encouraged to do so out of concern for their personal health and the health of the entire community.
For complete information on the required Daily Health Check, visit UB’s main COVID-19 page.
Source: Human Resources
UB requires viral testing for individuals who report symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or develop such symptoms during quarantine.
In the event that infection becomes more widespread in the local community and/or on campus, widespread testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection may be conducted to identify cases for isolation and to guide aggressive contact tracing. Both of these measures would mitigate further spread.
The university will require a quarantine for individuals awaiting the result of viral testing.
Notification of State and Local Health Agencies
The university will immediately notify the state and local health departments of known confirmed positive cases on a UB campus.
Contract Tracing
If a member of the campus community is tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, UB will support the Erie County Health Department’s contact tracing procedures in accordance with the New York State Contact Tracing Program. Confidentiality will be maintained as required by federal and state law and regulations.
The university will continue to evaluate new smartphone and web-based technologies that monitor individual activities and potential exposures to assess whether these new technologies will add value to current screening and contact tracing programs.
Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were or may have been exposed to COVID-19 to prevent spreading the virus.
Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms.
People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.
You should stay home for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19.
UB recommends or requires quarantine in specific circumstances, as described below:
To reduce the risk of virus transmission, and in accordance with SUNY guidelines, a precautionary seven-day quarantine at their own residence is highly recommended for all UB students, faculty and staff who return to or come to campus in August (or thereafter) to start the academic year.
During these seven days, all members of the campus community are asked to exercise extra caution in protecting yourself from COVID-19 infection, especially by:
Upon return to campus, it is important and necessary that all individuals adhere to all UB health guidelines, which include the use of a face covering at all times, appropriate physical distancing and frequent handwashing.
The university’s guidelines will continue to be updated as needed in accordance with new recommendations from the state and CDC, and as new scientific findings emerge. Updates will be posted on the Health and Safety Guidelines webpage.
In accordance with New York State health guidelines, UB requires a mandatory 14-day quarantine for individuals who meet these criteria:
If you test positive for COVID-19, please contact these offices first. This will help UB take steps to protect the health of others.
Students:
Health Services
Michael Hall, South Campus
716-829-3316
Students, please do not visit Health Services without an appointment.
Employees:
Human Resources
UB-HR@buffalo.edu
716-645-7777
When it is necessary to quarantine, please follow these guidelines:
To reduce the risk of virus transmission, and in accordance with SUNY guidelines, a precautionary seven-day quarantine at their own residence is highly recommended for all UB students, faculty and staff who return to or come to campus in August (or thereafter) to start the academic year.
During these seven days, all members of the campus community are asked to exercise extra caution in protecting yourself from COVID-19 infection, especially by:
Upon return to campus, it is important and necessary that all individuals adhere to all UB health guidelines, which include the use of a face covering at all times, appropriate physical distancing and frequent handwashing.
The university’s guidelines will continue to be updated as needed in accordance with new recommendations from the state and CDC, and as new scientific findings emerge. Updates will be posted on the Health and Safety Guidelines webpage.
In accordance with New York State guidelines, students, faculty, staff and visitors arriving in New York State from designated states that have significant community spread of COVID-19 will be required to quarantine for 14 days before coming to campus. This requirement does not apply to any individual passing through designated states for a limited duration (i.e., less than 24 hours) through the course of travel.
Employees who travel to such states are ineligible for paid sick leave benefits if the travel was not directed by UB.
1. If an employee commenced travel on or before June 25, 2020:
2. If an employee commenced travel after June 25, 2020, regardless of return date:
These rules apply to employee travel to states listed on the New York State Department of Health (DOH) site:
Before traveling out of state, all employees should consult the DOH website to confirm whether they are traveling to a state that requires quarantine upon return to New York.
These provisions do not apply if an employee travels to a designated state as part of the employee’s employment or at the direction of the employee’s agency:
UB employees returning from a designated state who cannot telecommute and are deemed essential and critical for the operation or safety of the workplace, upon a documented determination by their supervisor and a human resources (HR) representative in consultation with appropriate state and local health authorities, the exposed, asymptomatic employee may return to work so long as the employee adheres to the following practices prior to and during their work shift, which should be monitored and documented by the employer and employee:
If an employee is symptomatic upon arrival at work or becomes sick with COVID-19 symptoms while at the workplace, absent close or proximate contact with a person with COVID-19, the employee must be separated and sent home immediately and may return to work upon completing at least 10 days of isolation from the onset of symptoms OR upon receipt of a negative COVID-19 test result.
Updated 3/1/2021