In light of the ever-evolving nature of the pandemic and the latest federal guidance, UK is switching to more of an on-demand approach to accessing care and tracking COVID on campus.
UK spokesman Jay Blanton says the system UK created to handle all things coronavirus will stay in place, but in a scaled-back form.
"Our UK Health Corps, which has been that sort of public health infrastructure we built out the last couple years, that will remain will no longer conduct contact tracing. We're not going to be notifying people of potential exposures," Blanton says. "As with other illnesses that people can contract, they'll work with their primary care physicians or providers or other parties to make the notifications they need to make and take care of their health in that respect."
Some of the other changes: The university is suspending its ending wastewater monitoring program, and starting in February, most new hires will not need to provide proof of COVID vaccination.
Should COVID throw another curveball, however, Blanton says the university is ready.
"If we needed to swing back up, to confront COVID or frankly another public health issue, we have demonstrated that we've got that capacity and that will still be there and be in place to help us when we need it," the spokesman explained.
As for how students, faculty, and staff should handle cases of COVID, the school is now switching to a system more akin to how any other illness are dealt with. Anyone testing positive will be encouraged to consult their physician and students and employees will be expected to present documentation from a primary care provider as they would with other illnesses.
