AMHERST (WBEN) - Several UB officials held a press conference Thursday morning to discuss the finer points of the school's COVID-19 protocols and mandates, during a week in which many students are returning to campus.
"We intend to be full in person and operational throughout the year," said A. Scott Weber, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Of course, students who are planning to attend in-person classes are required to get vaccinated per SUNY, and masking is required of everyone regardless of vaccination status.
Some other protocols include:
-Weekly surveillance testing for unvaccinated individuals
-A Daily Health Check for on-campus students, faculty and staff
-An innovative wastewater monitoring program
-Increasing airflow in buildings, in accordance with guidelines from the CDC
-Quarantine and isolation, according to CDC guidelines
As of Wednesday, more than 27,000 students – 90% of the student body – have provided UB with proof they are already fully vaccinated. Of the 6,800 students expected to live in university-owned and operated residence halls and apartments, more than 6,600 have submitted proof they are fully vaccinated.
While faculty are not required by the state to be vaccinated, they are being strongly urged by the university to do so. Roughly 4,800 employees – about 60% of UB's workforce – have provided proof of vaccination, and UB is in the process of gathering and verifying proof for about 3,000 additional employees who are returning to campus this fall. Employees who don't submit proof of vaccination will be required to participate in weekly surveillance testing and must wear a mask indoors and outdoors on UB campuses.
In an innovative approach to COVID surveillance, UB will begin testing wastewater. According to the school, the program will proceed as follows:
-UB will conduct weekly saliva testing at each of its three campuses
-Students and employees who have submitted proof of vaccination are not required to participate
-Individuals who are on campus for classes, activities or employment and have not been fully vaccinated are required to undergo weekly saliva testing
-UB researchers, in coordination with Erie County, will continue conducting regular surveillance testing in wastewater samples collected from multiple sites on campus, including academic buildings and residence halls
"When an individual is infected with SARS-COV-2, the agent for COVID, even though we think of it as a respiratory virus, it's shed in our stool in large quantities," said Dr. Tom Russo, chief of Infectious Disease at the Jacobs School of Medicine. "If you go ahead an assess wastewater, basically what's in our sewers, if the virus is present, it can be identified."
Even though students and faculty are going through several layers of protection, officials still anticipate cases to appear throughout the semester.
If a student or instructor tests positive, individuals who have been in close contact with that person in a classroom setting, as long as they were properly masked, do not need to quarantine or get tested unless they develop symptoms..
For residential students who test positive or are a close contact of someone who has tested positive, UB has designated space in residence halls where students will be required to quarantine or isolate. The students will be provided food, high-speed Wi-Fi, and access to all remote learning resources.
"Because of the health and safety measures we have in place, we anticipate that UB will be among the safest places in Western New York, as we were last year," said Weber.
