Process for Reporting Symptoms

Following are SUNY Orange reporting guidelines for employees who exhibit symptoms related to COVID-19.

Any employee experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 shall immediately report symptoms to their supervisor and Human Resources. The supervisor and HR official will immediately direct the employee to leave work, if they are currently at work, or stay home, if they are not at work, and self-quarantine as a precaution. The supervisor and/or HR shall request and record the latest contact information for the employee so that HR personnel can reach them for follow up information.

Employees should contact the HR office with questions or concerns.

Reporting and Response when Employee is at Work

If the employee is at work and experiencing severe symptoms, and requires urgent medical attention, the supervisor should call 911 and notify the dispatcher that the distressed employee may have COVID-19 symptoms, so that emergency medical service responders may use appropriate precautions.

The HR official will deploy facility maintenance personnel to clean and disinfect the suspected employee’s work area and nearby common areas and bathrooms. HR will contact the employee to inquire about current symptoms, verify that they have quarantined as a precaution, and direct the employee to call a health care provider and seek testing, if the employee has not already done so. The employee should contact their primary health care practitioner to see if they are available and able to collect a sample for testing via a rapid or PCR test. If not, the employee should contact the New York State COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-364-3065 to be referred to a regional testing site that can collect and submit a sample for testing. If the employee is not able to test with a health care provider or regional testing site, the employee can also collect a sample via an at-home test. The employee must notify HR, and provide a copy, of the test results as soon as they are received. 

General Procedures

HR will also ask the employee about their potential contact and interactions with other employees of the agency/authority. People who have been in close contact with a symptomatic employee are at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19, if the employee tests positive. As a precaution, while the employee awaits test results, HR – in consultation with DOH – will identify the employees who may have been in close, sustained contact with the employee after they became ill. These close professional contacts will be notified by HR of their potential exposure and directed to self-quarantine if not vaccinated and/or boosted, if deemed eligible for a booster according to the DOH guidelines.

HR and/or the Orange County DOH will contact the employee to verify and complete contact tracing. If the test result is positive, the DOH may issue a mandatory quarantine and conduct additional tracing of the employee’s personal contacts (e.g. family).

If the test results for the employee are positive (+), HR will immediately direct the employee to maintain their quarantine for 5 days from the onset of symptoms or date that the positive sample was collected, whichever comes first (based upon guidance from the OCDOH). HR will then advise the professional direct contacts to quarantine and, if they become symptomatic, seek testing from their health care provider. HR will also notify the supervisor of the positive test result and send a notice to all employees who work within the nearby work location.

If the test results for the employee are negative (-), HR will promptly direct the employee to return to work after they have recovered from their illness and direct the professional contacts under quarantine to resume their daily activities and return to work.