Guidelines for COVID-19
【To Academic Staffs and Administrative Staffs】
What to do if you have symptoms of COVID-19
2022.01.24 updated
Follow the guidelines below if you have a fever or suspicious symptoms of COVID-19. Please monitor your health as much as possible, and measure your body temperature before going to school or work every morning.
① First day of symptoms:
If you have any symptoms such as a fever, headache, sore throat, runny nose, cough, general malaise/fatigue, or a body temperature of 37.5 °C or higher (even without other symptoms):
《Action》
Please DO NOT go to school or work. Please report through the following New Corona Contact Form.
https://sanda.tufs.ac.jp/emergency-contact/covid19/
In addition, please report on the following matters (hereinafter referred to as “information to report”) using Report Form 1*.
1) Information on the progression of your symptoms: When and what symptoms have you experienced? Progress including when and how high a fever rose, etc.
2) Information on your living situation: Symptoms of family members or persons living in the same house (with or without contact with people infected with COVID-19)
3) Information on your activities during the last two days before symptoms appeared (attendance at workplaces, meetings, parties, events, etc.)
4) Information on contact with people infected with COVID-19: with/without contact with infected persons, travel history in Japan and overseas, etc.
(1) If you have any symptoms, including fever, please call your family doctor, and consult how to see doctor and how to get COVID-19 test.
If you have troubles consulting your family doctor, you can call and consult “call center for COVID-19” * described below.
(2) If you meet the following conditions, please consult your family doctor or “call center for COVID-19” *, as soon as possible.
・those who are experiencing breathlessness (dyspnea), extreme malaise/fatigue, or high fever
・those who have underlying conditions which will be easy to be severe, such as diabetes, heart failure, respiratory diseases, on-dialysis, or taking immunosuppressant or anticancer medication.
Afterwards, measure body temperature twice a day (morning and evening) and record as well as symptoms.
*: “call center for COVID-19” about COVID-19 in each region in Japan
https://www.c19.mhlw.go.jp/area-en.html
② Until two days after symptoms appear:
1) If symptoms continue:
《Action》
Please follow the ‘Action’ of “1. First day of symptoms”, as outlined above.
2) If your physical condition, including symptoms such as a fever, cough, and general malaise, has completely recovered without taking any medication:
《Action》
At least 2 days past after your physical condition improves without taking any medicine, you can go to work or go to school.
Please try to prevent infection by wearing a face mask, washing your hands and practicing cough etiquette while commuting or working.
In addition, if you have diagnosed as any other diseases, please come to the university after getting the confirmation from the doctor that “the disease is completely cured”.
③ Three days after symptoms appear:
1) If symptoms such as fever, headache, sore throat, runny nose, cough, and general malaise continue for four days (including if you need to keep taking fever medication):
《Action》
Please call and consult your area’s "call center for COVID-19" * as above and consider consulting a medical institution.
In addition, if you go to a hospital or clinic, please wear a face mask, thoroughly wash your hands and practice cough etiquette - make an effort to avoid spreading the infection.
2) If your physical condition, including symptoms such as fever, cough and general malaise, has completely recovered without taking any medication:
《Action》
Please follow the “2. -2)” guide, as written above.
What to do if you are diagnosed with COVID-19
2022.09.08 updated
If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, you will be prohibited from working until you are cured and should not report to work.
Please follow the doctor's instructions and concentrate on medical treatment or at a hotel/ accommodation, and or inpatient treatment.
Also, if the diagnosis has not been confirmed and you are instructed for follow-up observation, please stay at home, until the diagnosis is denied.
Please report immediately using the New Corona Contact Form https://sanda.tufs.ac.jp/emergency-contact/covid19/.
Regarding returning to work:
(1) Cases in which the patient has some symptoms during the course of the treatment.
①Those receiving home treatment, overnight stay treatment, or inpatient treatment (excluding cases treated with ventilators, etc.), may return to work after 7 days have passed since the onset date and 24 hours have passed since the symptoms lessened (the treatment is lifted from the 8th day).
Furthermore, the number of days elapsed is calculated from the day of symptom onset as 「day 0」. For the 24-hour lapse after alleviation of symptoms, it is defined as 「at least 24 hours must have elapsed without the patient having taken any medication to alleviate symptoms」.
②Those who are currently hospitalized (on the 8th day after 7 days have passed) may be released from treatment from the 11th day if 10 days have passed since the onset date and 72 hours have passed since the symptoms abated. If there are any instructions (verbally) from the attending physician regarding the patient's return to work at the time of discharge, please follow such instructions. It is not necessary to ask the doctor for a Certificate / Proof of recovery from COVID-19.
(2) If the patient is asymptomatic and has no symptoms of any kind during the course of the treatment.
If 7 days have passed from the date of specimen collection, the patient can be released from treatment on the 8th day. In addition, if the antigen test using an approved test kid as the in vitro diagnostic kit on the 5th day is confirmed negative, the patient can be released from treatment after 5 days (on the 6th day). Also, please take a picture of the negative result to prove that the test was conducted using an approved test kit (in-vitro diagnostic).
※Symptomatic patients remain at risk of infection for 10 days, and asymptomatic patients remain at risk for 7 days. As such, we ask that you check your own temperature and other health conditions, refrain from contact with high-risk individuals and activities that carry a high risk of infection, and perform infection-prevention activities.
※Regarding self-restraint from going out during the treatment period, if a patient is symptomatic and 24 hours have passed since the symptoms lessened or if the patient is asymptomatic, it is acceptable to go out to buy groceries and contact with people provided that only for a short time, refrain from using public transportation, and take voluntary infection prevention measures such as wearing a mask at all times.
Since there have been cases of recurrence and/or re-infection after returning to work, please continue to measure body temperature and to observe your health condition every day for about 4 weeks after discharge. If you experience any suspicious symptoms, immediately contact the “call center for COVID-19” * and follow its instructions to see a medical institution. And please take measures to prevent infection, such as wearing a mask and keeping a social distance of about 2 meters from others, and do not come to work if you feel unwell.
* : “call center for COVID-19” about COVID-19 in each region in Japan
https://www.c19.mhlw.go.jp/area-en.html
What to do if you come in close contact with an infected person
2022.7.25 updated
If you are identified as a close contact** with an infected person, pay attention to your health condition and take sick leave for 5 days (until Day 5) from the next day (Day 1) of the date of your last close contact with the COVID-19 infected person.
During this observation period, please do not come to work, take a sick leave and/or work from home. In addition, please refrain from going out unnecessarily and take measures to prevent infection according to the instructions of the health care center.
Until 7 days pass, please check your physical condition by yourself.
Please report to the following New Corona Contact Form (https://sanda.tufs.ac.jp/emergency-contact/covid19/), when you are identified as a close contact with an infected person.
If symptoms occur during this period, be sure to consult “call center for COVID-19” and consider visiting a medical institution.
**: “Close contact” refers to those who fall under the following range among “patients (confirmed cases)” (including those who carry asymptomatic pathogens) who lived with the patient or had long-term contact (including in a car or aircraft)・ “persons who have been examining, nursing or caring for a patient (confirmed case) without appropriate infection protection” and “persons who are likely to have come into direct contact with contaminants such as airway secretions or body fluids of the patient (confirmed case)” at a distance that can be touched by hand (about 1meter)・a person who has been in contact with a “patient (confirmed case)” for 15 minutes or more without necessary infection prevention measures.
COVID-19 patient (confirmed case) is defined as “a person who have suspicious clinical symptoms of COVID-19 and confirmed by examination”.
An “asymptomatic pathogen carrier” is a person who has no clinical symptoms of COVID-19 but has been diagnosed by examination.
***: “Infectious period” is defined as “from 2 days prior to the date of outbreak of the suspicious symptoms, such as fever, cough, dyspnea, general fatigue, sore throat, rhinorrhea, headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, and nausea, etc. in COVID-19 patient, including asymptomatic carrier(person) who have pathogens, to the date of release from isolation”.