January 19, 2022
Changes in COVID-19 reporting announced
Submitted by Division of Communications and Marketing
Following recently announced changes in quarantine and isolation protocols, Kansas State University has updated the COVID-19 dashboard. Effective this week, student isolation and quarantine data will no longer be displayed on the university’s COVID-19 website.
Students have been asked to self-report symptomatic illness directly to faculty members, which means that data on isolation and quarantine is no longer collected centrally by the Office of Student Life. Rather than publish inaccurate data due to the large number of people testing positive elsewhere and at home, the decision was made to suspend reporting.
Given widespread disease prevalence in our communities, the university also will suspend support for contact tracing efforts. Contact tracing efforts continue at the state and local health department levels; however, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment plans to discontinue its efforts on Feb. 1. The rapid spread of the omicron variant has exceeded capacity to track contacts in a timely manner that would provide any actionable information to help mitigate spread or make decisions.
Health officials predict the latest surge will peak in the next couple of weeks. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to take all safety precautions. Wear masks in indoor spaces, practice good hand hygiene and social distance. The best way to protect yourself and others is to get the free and safe vaccines.
Read further guidance and details on the university’s COVID-19 website at k-state.edu/covid-19.