Students can find all the basic information and symptoms of flu-like-illness here. Those experiencing flu-like illness should stay home, maintain their distance from other individuals, and call Student Health Services at 212.229.1671 option 2 for medical advice. It is especially important that students with pre-existing medical conditions (i.e. pregnant women, adults with chronic medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes, or individuals with immunosuppression) immediately call SHS because they may be at serious risk for complications from flu.

Students who have flu or flu-like illness should take the following steps to take care of themselves and prevent the spread of illness to others. If you seek medical advice contact Student Health Services at 212.229.1671 option 2.

Follow Home Isolation Instructions:
Students should follow the home-isolation instructions. All residence hall students should stay in their dorm room (i.e. stay away from others and eat meals in their room) for 24 hours of no fever without the use of fever reducing medication. Students who live within driving distance of the university may be asked to self-isolate at home.

Notify:

• Students missing classes due to influenza-like illness (ILI) must contact their student advising office and instructors using their New School email address.
• All residence hall students should also contact their RAs that they are beginning self-isolation and discuss whether they need assistance with residential/dining or medication delivery matters until recovered.

Avoid contact:

• Avoid contact with others by eating meals in your room. Ill students will not be permitted in the dining halls. Ask a friend to pick up meals from your dining hall, and leave the food outside your door.
• Do not attend class, meetings, or other events. Notify your professors if you will be absent from class due to flu or flu-like illness.
• Discourage all visitors. If you have a roommate, try to stay at least six feet away from them and clean surfaces frequently to prevent the spread of germs.
• Wear a surgical mask if someone enters your room or you have to leave your room (i.e. to use the bathroom) in order to prevent the spread of germs. Your RA or RHD will provide you with a mask.

Take care of yourself:

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your elbow when you cough or sneeze to prevent the spread of germs.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand gel.
• Get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.

Individuals with pre-existing medical conditions (i.e. pregnant women, adults with chronic medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes, or individuals with immunosuppression) may be at higher risk for complications from flu. Students with pre-existing conditions who develop flu-like symptoms or have been exposed to someone with flu should immediately call Student Health Services 212.229.1671 option 2 for medical advice.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition that you have not previously disclosed to Student Health Services, send a confidential email to Student Health Services medical@newschool.edu in order to be added to SHS' list of students who may need special consideration in the event of an outbreak of a communicable disease on campus.

The university is following guidance from federal and state health officials that students with flu or flu-like illness should stay away from others and self-isolate in their dorm rooms until they are no longer contagious. Students who live within driving distance of the university may be asked to self-isolate at home. Current guidelines recommend home isolation during illness and for at least 24 hours after the ill person's fever is gone, except to get medical care (fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine).

The university is not able to release the locations of individuals who are in self-isolation due to flu because this would be a violation of federal health privacy rules

Personal health information is private and the university is not able to release the identity of an individual receiving medical treatment; it would be a violation of federal health privacy rules. However, we understand the concerns of members of the university community, and we want you to know that university officials are in regular communication with the New York local and state health departments about this public health issue. The university also is following the guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for medical assessment and treatment of individuals with flu, as well as following the hygienic guidelines to minimize the potential of the virus spreading to other individuals on campus.

Faculty have been asked to be flexible with attendance requirements so that students who report flu-like symptoms will not be penalized if they notify their instructors that they are ill.

Remember, students should notify faculty when first sick. Students should also request from faculty how to best get back up to speed in their courses once they return.