FAQs

We continue to offer Eau Claire community testing and families are part of our community. We have always offered testing for our faculty, staff and their families.

Yes, we continue to conduct wastewater testing and will respond to requests regarding air purifiers related to the extensive air quality testing that has taken place across campus. 

First, whether you’re a student or an employee, if you are not feeling well, stay home. Supervisors should work with employees so they can take the time needed to recover. Students should not go to class if they are not feeling well. Get tested and stay home until you get your results. Students and employees can be tested at our Hilltop and Barron sites. If your antigen test is positive, we will provide access to a PCR test for employees and students. 

Everyone who tests positive must isolate for five days. We have rooms available for residence-hall students and we encourage off-campus students to avoid any contact with others as much as possible. After 5 days, infected individuals who no longer have symptoms or fever may end isolation, but should continue wearing a mask at all times for another five days. That isolation includes not eating around other individuals.

Yes, UWEC’s contact tracing team is continuing to work with students who have tested positive. The health department, with the assistance of our campus contract tracing team, receives notification of positive cases and are trained to manage disease investigation and contract tracing. We have a great team of contact tracers at UW-Eau Claire. We do not expect instructors to contact trace when students report they are ill.  When students tell you they have tested positive, we ask faculty to work with the student to make arrangements for their classwork. We also encourage faculty to continue to keep a seating chart in their classes this semester.

Whether or not you need to quarantine depends on your vaccination status. You are “up to date” on your vaccinations if you have received all the recommended primary vaccines, and if you are eligible, a booster. Please refer to the CDC information to determine if you are up to date, as it varies depending on your age, health status and when you first got vaccinated Stay Up to Date with Your Vaccines | CDC. You can find further guidance on when to quarantine on our COVID website and by contacting Student Health Service.

We are not able to offer all classes both in-person and remotely. For students who are immunocompromised, we recommend that you work with your advisor to identify classes that are already scheduled to be offered remotely. Students who become ill or need to quarantine should deal with a COVID-19 infection as they would any other illness. Contact your instructor and work out with them how you can make up any classes you need to miss. Some classes may need to go online briefly if an instructor must isolate or quarantine, so students should check their campus email regularly. Employees who need to isolate or quarantine should work with their supervisors to identify remote work activities or use sick days when ill. At this time, UW System does not have plans to implement COVID leave. We will work with any employees who have used their available sick days due to the pandemic.

Students and employees are not required to be vaccinated, however if you choose not to or have a medical exemption, you must test weekly. Statistics prove being vaccinated and receiving the booster greatly reduces the chance of significant illness. Hospitals across the country have experienced surges of very ill individuals, the huge majority of whom have not been vaccinated. Everyone over 18 who has been vaccinated is eligible for a booster.

Yes, when Blugolds update their vaccination and booster status, it helps our team get a clear picture of what resources and next steps are required to keep our campus community safe. As a reminder, your vaccination data is kept private and is not shared. Students can use the updated Vaccination Upload eForm to upload primary vaccination series and booster records. Employees should use UW System’s MyUWPortal  to provide documentation of their vaccination records.

No, funding is not available for an incentive program at this time.