The information provided in these FAQs is subject to change and will be updated based on the most recent local, state and national guidance regarding COVID-19.
If you have any COVID-like symptoms, do not come to campus. Inform your supervisor and determine if you are well enough and able to work remotely. Get tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible. If you are positive for COVID-19, email your test results to COVIDsupport@sandiego.edu and review the isolation protocols on this website.
How to Use the Dashboard
Updated August 2022
SARS-CoV-2 wastewater detection: The University of San Diego’s wastewater monitoring program tests for the SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in wastewater outflow from buildings across the campus.
Potential COVID-19 exposure notification: When USD receives notice that an individual infected with COVID‐19 was present at a USD building or worksite, the locations at which they were present will be shared, effective 08/16/2022. The notice can come from both lab-reported and self-reported cases.
Workplace exposure timing: If someone tests positive, we document the buildings on campus that they visited during their infectious period. The infectious period starts two days before symptoms started or, if they are asymptomatic then two days before the test was taken. These are all included on the Daily Dashboard for Potential Exposure Locations. If someone worked M-F at the EOC, tested on Thursday (asymptomatic) and got a positive result on Friday. We would include the EOC for T-F on the dashboard. If that same person had symptoms that started on Wednesday, then M-F would be included on the dashboard.
SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Monitoring
Updated August 2022
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is shed from the gastrointestinal tract and can be detected in feces early in the infection before clinical symptoms. USD’s wastewater monitoring program tests for SARS-CoV-2 virus in the wastewater outflow from buildings across the campus. Testing on other campuses has shown that our test is extremely sensitive; a sampler covering several buildings housing 100 or more people is capable of detecting a single individual shedding virus. This enables us to detect viral shedding and encourage COVID-19 testing as early as possible, so that infected individuals can get care, isolate themselves, and avoid infecting others. This is an important component of our multi-layered strategy that has helped USD avoid large clusters of infection.
USD collects and processes composite samples five days a week. The autosampler machines collect a sample every hour and the 24-hour composite sample is transported to the lab for processing. Occasionally, a building sample will not be able to be collected for a given day due to issues such as clogging, low flow or other operational issues.
You can use the map on the COVID-19 Daily Dashboard to determine if your building is currently being monitored. Unfortunately, we are not able to monitor every building on campus due to various limitations.
You can use the map on the COVID-19 Daily Dashboard to determine if your building is currently being monitored, and if so, the status of the wastewater signal associated with the building.
If your building is associated with a positive wastewater signal, it may mean that there are one or more infected individuals in the building.
Because multiple buildings can feed wastewater into a single sampler, a positive signal in a building does not necessarily mean there is someone infected inside your building. Further, in some cases individuals who have recovered from their SARS-CoV-2 infection can continue to shed virus into the wastewater for several weeks after they have recovered. These individuals who are no longer infectious can, in some circumstances, contribute to a positive wastewater signal.
If you used the restroom in a building associated with a positive wastewater signal on that day, out of an abundance of caution, you should get tested promptly. Symptomatic students should go to the Student Health Center for testing. Symptomatic employees should use the San Diego County Test site on campus, located at the Former USD Electronic Recycling Center. If asymptomatic, USD students and employees are eligible for one free COVID-19 test kit per week. Test kits may be picked up at the Torero Store during business hours, you must show your valid USD ID at pick-up. Additionally, we encourage you to remain vigilant about masking and social distancing. You do not need to quarantine or isolate until you receive your results.
Information on the location of detected cases at USD can be found on the COVID-19 Daily Dashboard.
We are currently adapting our wastewater notification process given epidemiological conditions and development of our data systems. Please check the dashboard regularly for information.