COLLEGE STATION, TX — Texas A&M University is launching a new online reporting system for COVID-19 to help prevent the spread across campus communities.
Texas A&M University is implementing the reporting process for students, faculty, and staff and launching a new online reporting system that centralizes the reporting of COVID-19 illness or exposure to the COVID-19 Investigation Operations Center (Operations Center).
The Operations Center was established as part of a collaboration with the Brazos County Health District (BCHD) with the aim of augmenting contact tracing efforts in the Brazos Valley area.
The Operations Center is staffed with Texas A&M faculty, personnel employed by the BCHD, and a team of A&M System employees responsible for contacting and interviewing individuals who have either tested positive for COVID-19 or have been in close contact to someone with COVID-19.
This University says this process will allow the university to provide guidance and resources to those that are affected, determine if others are exposed, and assess the impact of the virus on campus.
The BCHD team is responsible for contacting and interviewing residents of Brazos County, including Texas A&M students and employees. The System team is responsible for contacting and interviewing Texas A&M students and employees who reside outside of Brazos County (including those at other System members that have chosen to use the Operations Center).
"By adhering to the following reporting processes and protocols, students, faculty, and staff will help maintain the confidentiality of personal and medical information as required by applicable laws and enhance the health and safety of our campus communities."
Employees and students must must stay home and immediately complete the COVID-19 Report Form if:
- You have been diagnosed with or received a positive test result for COVID-19;
- You are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms (as listed on the CDC website); or
- You believe that you have been in close contact (defined as being within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes regardless of wearing a face covering) with someone who has or is suspected to have COVID-19, or someone in your household has been diagnosed with or received a positive test result for COVID-19.
Students or employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been in close contact to someone with COVID-19 will be contacted by a member of the Operations Center to conduct an interview, provide specific guidance, answer questions about COVID-19, and initiate contact tracing. Students who suspect that they may have COVID-19 are also encouraged to contact Student Health Services or their preferred health care provider for health advice.
The Operations Center will handle contact tracing by contacting students, faculty, and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been in close contact to someone with COVID-19 to provide guidance on self-quarantine or self-isolation, ask about close contacts and notify those contacts, if necessary, provide recommendations and resources (e.g., testing and isolation guidelines), and promote best practices.
The COVID-19 Reporting Committee will have access to the information reported through the COVID-19 Report Forms and will coordinate with key campus offices to contain the spread of the disease while also protecting the confidentiality of the affected individual’s information to the extent possible.
More information can be found here.