COVID-19 VACCINATION AND MASKING POLICY
On June 8, 2022, the Board of Trustees suspended mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all Río Hondo College students and employees.
On September 14, 2022, the Board of Trustees suspended mandating indoor masking for all Río Hondo College students and employees, effective Saturday, October 1, 2022.
- Indoor masking – Highly recommended, not required.
- Outdoor masking – Highly recommended, not required.
COVID-19 ON CAMPUS TESTING FOR EMPLOYEES
Effective November 4, 2022, testing for employees will no longer be provided on campus. Visit the Los Angeles County website to find testing locations near you, including your local CVS: https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/
COVID-19 UPDATED ORDERS
On October 17,2022, the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health updated its Public Health Emergency Quarantine Order. The Public Health Emergency Isolation Order was updated on August 31, 2022. Río Hondo College continues to follow the regulations set forth by the County. The information below summarizes the changes and expectations for Río Hondo College employees who are close contacts with a person who has COVID-19, and for Río Hondo College employees who have tested positive for or have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Close contact quarantine exemption:
If you are a close contact to someone who has COVID-19, you are exempt from quarantine away from others regardless of your vaccination status if you have no symptoms or previously tested positive using a viral test for COVID-19 in the past 90 days and recovered. In other words, you are eligible to come to work.
While you are not required to quarantine away from others, you are still required to wear a highly protective mask around others, especially indoors and when near those at higher risk for severe COVID-19 disease, for a total of 10 days after the last contact with a person infected with COVID-19. The mask should be a well-fitting medical mask, a well-fitting respirator, or a well-fitting high filtration reusable mask with a nose-wire.
You are also required to test as soon as possible (within 3-5 days after your last exposure) to determine your infection status, monitor your symptoms for 10 days following your exposure, and follow all other steps in the Instructions for Close Contacts. If you test positive, follow all isolation requirements. If symptoms develop, test and stay home away from others.
Close contact quarantine non-exemption:
If you are a close contact to someone who has COVID-19 and you are not exempt from quarantine, you must quarantine and stay away from others for at least 5 days and up to 10 full days after your last exposure to a person diagnosed with COVID-19 in case you become infected with COVID-19. You may end self-quarantine after day 5 only if you remain asymptomatic and you receive a negative COVID-19 test result taken from a specimen collected on Day 5 or later. If you are unable to test or choose not to test, and symptoms are not present, quarantine ends after Day 10.
Instructions for all close contacts:
All close contacts, whether quarantined or not, should take steps to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 to others. All close contacts must:
- Wear a highly protective mask until your quarantine ends, or for a full 10 days if you are exempt from quarantine. If you meet the criteria to leave quarantine before 10 days, it is required that you continue to wear a highly protective, well-fitting mask around others, especially indoors, for a total of 10 days after the last contact with a person infected with COVID-19.
- Get tested within 3-5 days after your last exposure to determine your infection status. The test should be an FDA-authorized COVID-19 viral test such as an antigen or NAAT/PCR test, including over the counter self-tests.
- Monitor your health for 10 days following your exposure. If you develop symptoms of COVID-19 and/or test positive, follow the instructions below.
COVID-19 symptoms and/or positive test:
If you develop any symptoms of COVID-19 during the 10 days from your last contact with the infected person you must immediately isolate yourself and get a viral COVID-19 test. Wear a highly protective mask around others, especially indoors, for a total of 10 days after the last contact with a person infected with COVID-19. If you test negative*, continue to stay home and away from others at least until:
- You have been fever-free without the help of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours, AND
- Your other symptoms are stable or improving (unless your doctor or Public Health told you to stay home longer).
*If your negative result is from a rapid antigen test or an over-the-counter self-test, you should continue to stay away from others and retest in 1-2 days.
If you test positive for COVID-19 or your health care provider thinks you have COVID-19, you must follow the isolation order and home isolation instructions.
With the presence of the Omicron variant, an increasing percent of fully vaccinated persons can and do get infected. However, fully vaccinated and boosted persons are still at lowest risk of getting infected and are well protected from getting very sick and dying from COVID-19. Importantly, these post-vaccination infections usually cause only mild symptoms, if any. However, it is still possible for fully vaccinated people to spread the virus to other people.
As a reminder, many times, with the best of intentions, employees report or return to work even though they feel ill. Employees who report to work ill will be sent home in accordance with LACDPH guidelines. If you, or someone in your household, exhibits COVID-19 related symptoms, please notify HR Coordinator Stephanie Juanillo (sjuanillo@riohondo.edu) at the Office of Human Resources immediately. Your health and safety are our priority.
