Updated Health Guidelines (OHS Memo)

In alignment with the IATF Guidelines on the Nationwide Implementation of Alert Level System for Covid-19 Response of June 04, 2022, and with the Department of Health (DOH)’s Updated Guidelines on Quarantine, Isolation, and Testing for COVID-19 Response and Case Management for the Omicron Variant January 2022 under the current Alert Level 1, the following measures will guide COVID-19 case management.  

Students who are symptomatic or are tested positive for COVID 19 should stay at home and report the information directly to the Office of Health Services (OHS) for verification (email: healthservices.ls@ateneo.edu; contact numbers +63 918 944 5997 or +63 8426 6001 local 5110).  Referrals may be received by the OHS during office hours from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm onsite or 8:00 am-7:00 pm online on weekdays and 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturdays. Notifications received after office hours will be attended to on the next office day.  Verification may be done by OHS online or on-site.

For SYMPTOMATIC students enrolled in on-site classes who are verified to be highly suspect, probable, or confirmed positive cases:

1.     Vaccinated students will be asked to observe a quarantine period of 7 days. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students will be asked to observe a quarantine of 14 days.
2.     If symptoms persist beyond the 7 days, an extension of the quarantine period will be advised, and OHS will duly notify the faculty of a need for an extension.
3.     While it is not encouraged for students wish to shorten their quarantine because of the risks for transmission, a student may take an RT-PCR test on the 5th day from the onset of symptoms, whereby clearance can be issued for a negative test result if symptoms have resolved for at least 24 hours prior to the test. If RT PCR tests are not accessible for the student, antigen testing may be done by an accredited laboratory (see list of DOH accredited laboratories: (https://doh.gov.ph/licensed-covid-19-testing-laboratories).
4.     If the student is asymptomatic after the quarantine period, testing is not required prior to return to class but students should be cleared by the Office of Health Services prior to returning to class.
5.     If the student has already consulted their private physician, they should provide a medical certificate for validation by the OHS physician.
6.     Students with active symptoms will still not be allowed on campus even if they completed the isolation period
7.     Faculty notification of the reason for the student’s absence will be done by OHS.

For any ASYMPTOMATIC COVID-19 close contact exposure, defined as contacts of a confirmed or suspect case without masks or physical distancing lasting greater than 15 minutes, including ASYMPTOMATIC reported contacts with cases within the school premises, please be informed of the following:

1.     (Faculty and) Students will no longer be asked to quarantine if vaccinated. For unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students OHS will advise students to quarantine for 14 days following an exposure.
2.     The exposed individual will be asked to report to OHS if they develop any symptoms. The student is asked to observe due diligence with health protocols in their own homes eg mask wearing and physical distancing in common areas, ensure adequate ventilation.
3.     Faculty notification will only be issued by the OHS if a recommendation for absence is warranted.

Students who have respiratory symptoms which may not necessarily fit into the case definition of COVID-19 (e.g., cough, colds, sore throat, fever, loss of smell or taste, diarrhea) will still be asked to quarantine since the development of secondary symptoms may still happen within the observation period.  The following measures will apply:

1.     Students should stay at home and notify the OHS.
2.     Depending on the physician’s assessment, they may be advised to quarantine for a minimum of 5 days.
3.     If symptoms do not develop, they will be allowed to return to onsite classes on the specified date after the quarantine period.
4.     Faculty notification of the reason for the student’s absence will be done by OHS.  Note: faculty will also be notified if the student requires an extension of the specified quarantine period.

Academic Implications

Proceeding from the above updated health guidelines, please be advised of the following:

1.     For Undergraduate Classes: Following Section J of the 28 July 2022 memo, Erratum: Undergraduate Academic Policies Adapted to Onsite, Flex, and Fully Online Learning, First Semester SY 2022-2022, absences resulting from the need to quarantine (as certified by the OHS) are considered excused absences.
2.     For Graduate Classes: Graduate students who fail to submit assessments and participate in graded class activities during designated synchronous sessions due to the need to quarantine must inform their respective instructors as soon as possible. When applicable, students must present the necessary documentation prescribed in this memo to the instructor especially if requesting to accommodate make-up assessment sessions or moving deadlines to a later date.
3.     However, in case of absences of an extended period, even if excused (whether continuous or combined), which make it difficult for students to catch up with missed course input and assessments, the option of requesting for Withdrawal with Permission (WP) from one or more courses* or for a Leave of Absence (which will result  in WP grades for all enrolled courses in the semester) should be considered. Students are reminded that the deadline for requesting for a WP or an LOA for the First Semester SY 2022-2023 is on Saturday, 5 November 2022. Students who opt to continue with a class despite excessive absences should be aware of the possible consequences of doing so to their final grades.
4.     Instructors handling fully onsite or flex classes are  asked to have  contingency measures in place for disruptions to their classes due to COVID-19. They have the option to switch to an online modality if there is a confirmed or probable COVID case in class.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

_{*For undergraduate students, the minimum allowed load for a semester is 12 academic units. PE and NSTP do not count toward this minimum load. Moreover, to qualify for the Dean's List, a student must be enrolled in at least 15 academic units (also not counting PE and NSTP).}