New River Community and Technical College is following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control regarding steps to diminish the spread of COVID-19/coronavirus. The CDC is encouraging all persons who have cold/flu-like symptoms to self-isolate until the illness has passed. (See guidance on health care at https://newriver.edu/coronavirus/ ) If you are sick, please stay home. As the CDC Guidance explains, any person with fever or any difficulty or pain in breathing should contact their doctor immediately. It is always okay for anyone who is sick to consult their doctor, even if the symptoms are mild. The CDC hopes that self-isolation
strategies will slow the spread of coronavirus around the country. If you are ill, stay home and contact your supervisor regarding your absence and the submission of sick leave in KRONOS.
The CDC has urged colleges and universities to modify, where possible, policies that make it
difficult to follow the recommendation of self-isolation. In support of that guidance, New River
Community and Technical College has adopted a CERTIFICATION OF ILLNESS or
QUARANTINE form which students/employees can use during this period in lieu of medical
documentation when absent due to illness.
This form can also be used if you need to self-quarantine for a specific coronavirus risk. Due to
the extreme communicability of coronavirus, the CDC is also encouraging certain persons with
no current symptoms of illness to nevertheless self-quarantine. Therefore:
- 1. If a student/employee is confirmed to have been: a) directly exposed to a known coronavirus case, or b) traveled to a location considered “level 3” or higher by the CDC, or c) traveled to a place where health authorities are formally requesting self-
quarantines to be used, they should avoid coming to campus and advise their
instructor(s) or supervisor that they will self-quarantine, and use the CERTIFICATION form. People who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past three months, and recovered, do not have to quarantine or be tested again, unless they have developed new symptoms.
- 2. The self-quarantine would continue 10 calendar days away from campus if you were not tested for COVID-19, or 7 calendar days away from campus if you were tested for COVID-19 on day 5 or later and received a negative test result. The College is not requiring any medical documentation for your absence; only the CERTIFICATION is required. Staff may apply either sick leave or annual leave.
- 3. If concerning an employee, and the nature of an employee’s work lends itself to working
remotely, they may discuss that with their supervisor, who may ask the area Vice
President to approve or deny that request. Faculty would be expected to follow the
Academic Affairs Contingency Plan.
- 4. Students will communicate with instructors to develop alternate plans for course work
completion if necessary.
- 5. No employee would be eligible for catastrophic leave in these cases. If the employee
does not have enough leave to cover their time off, and they cannot telework, they
would not be paid.
Students/Employees are advised that the use of this form constitutes a legal certification that they
genuinely isolated themselves for the period that they designate. Completion of this form by persons
who did not engage in self-isolation due to flu-symptoms or coronavirus risk is a fraud on the College.