eNews: Required emergency notification of positive COVID-19 cases on campus

January 19, 2021

As we begin the spring semester, Baylor University is required to send an Emergency Notification* under the Clery Act to all students and employees to ensure you are informed about where to access information regarding COVID-19 positive cases on our campus, important personal health and safety precautions and essential sources of information about the coronavirus.

Daily Dashboard

The University provides an update on confirmed positive cases among Baylor community members on the Baylor University COVID-19 Dashboard, which can be found on the University's coronavirus website. The dashboard is updated daily by 3 p.m. and includes daily new reported cases, total active cases, positivity rate and cumulative cases, as well as several other important data points, such as testing statistics and isolation bed availability.

The University's coronavirus website also contains links to the COVID-19 case dashboards maintained by the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Waco/McLennan County Public Health District, and the latest information about COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about caring for yourself and helping protect others in your home and community.

Prevention Strategies

With the prevalence of COVID-19 cases in our local community and state, we remind all students, faculty and staff to continue to strengthen your personal health protection in addition to completing weekly testing:

Wear a mask to protect yourself and others and stop the spread of COVID-19. Masks are required to be worn inside all University buildings and in all outdoor areas where physical distancing is not possible, when in groups or where congestion is likely.
Stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arm lengths) from others who don’t live with you. Avoid close contact with people who are sick, even inside of your home.
Avoid crowds. The more people you are in contact with, the more likely you are to be exposed to COVID-19.
Wash and sanitize your hands often.
Cover coughs/sneezes with a tissue or inside of your elbow.
Clean and disinfect frequently used surfaces.
Conduct daily health self-checks to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, fatigue or severe headache, among other symptoms.

COVID-19 affects all age groups – even college-aged students. Regular weekly testing in combination with continued mask wearing, physical distancing and hand-sanitizing (the comprehensive Swiss Cheese model of preventive measures) will keep our campus – and local community – safe, healthy and open and increase the potential for more in-person events and activities during the spring semester.

If you are a Baylor student and experiencing any of the symptoms of COVID-19 or you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for the virus, stay at home and make a testing appointment by logging in to Health Portal on the Baylor Health Services website. Do NOT go directly to the McLane Student Life Center for medical treatment. As we did in the fall, all COVID-19-related symptoms will continue to be treated through the COVID-19 Testing Clinic and Respiratory Clinic located in North Village Community Center. Regular weekly testing is a different process and will be held in the My Labs Direct testing tents on campus and off-site mobile units.

Baylor employees who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should follow CDC guidelines and contact their personal healthcare provider.

Additional resources

Valuable resources for students include the COVID-19 Student Guide, and for employees, the Health & Safety Guide for Returning to Work on Campus. In addition, the University also has adopted various Interim COVID-19 policies that students, employees, contractors and visitors must follow, including the wearing of face masks and complying with weekly COVID-19 testing throughout the semester.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control, the Texas Department of State Health Services and the COVID-19 website.

Baylor University
Department of Public Safety

*Under appropriate circumstances, the Baylor University Department of Public Safety will issue emergency notifications and/or timely warnings regarding criminal activity or safety issues concerning campus as required by law. For more information on Emergency Notification/Timely Warnings - Baylor Alerts, please visit the University Compliance and Risk Services website.