Welcome Back. Below, you will find some important information that you will need to know as we begin the Spring 2022 semester.

Vaccinations

·       CSI strongly encourages everyone in our campus community to get COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. For information concerning the vaccine, please visit #VaxUpCUNY.

·       Students enrolled in in-person and hybrid classes are required to be fully vaccinated (unless approved for an exemption/exception), and are required to get the COVID-19 booster shot when they become eligible. For more detailed information on the mandate, including important deadlines, please read the following message from the Chancellor: Booster Mandate and Deadlines (Students) – The City University of New York (cuny.edu)

·       Students should follow the Student Guide to Vaccine Verification to upload their vaccines into CUNYFirst.

·       Faculty and staff who are not vaccinated or who have not voluntarily uploaded their proof of vaccination into CUNYFirst, and unvaccinated students with an approved exception or exemption, must continue to test regularly at a CUNY COVID-19 Testing Site.

·       Note: Individuals who received a World Health Organization (WHO)-approved vaccination other than the three listed above must provide more information. Students can contact their Campus Location Vaccination Authority (LVA) and faculty can contact their campus’ Human Resources Department. All College entrants must have vaccination information uploaded to CUNYfirst, which then provides for validation through the CUNY Cleared4 Access Pass.

Requirements for Campus Entry (Cleared4 Access Pass)

·       All members of the CSI community, and visitors and guests must have their vaccination status and/or test status validated through CUNY’s Cleared4, Safecircle app.

·       Status must be displayed as “Cleared for CUNY Access” and will be checked upon entry to the CSI campus. CUNY students, faculty, and staff can be automatically validated in the Cleared4 system by uploading their vaccination records in CUNYfirst; instructions, including the exemption requirements, are available for students, and for faculty and staff .

·       Please be sure to read instructions for registering, viewing, presenting, and bookmarking your CUNY Cleared 4 access pass.

·       All visitors and guests except delivery personnel who will not enter buildings or who expect to be on the campus less than 30 minutes must also register in Cleared4 to enter the CSI campus. Visitors and guests should contact their CSI contact as soon as possible to make sure they will be able to come onto the campus through the Public Safety checkpoints. Instructions for using the Cleared4 app for guests and visitors are online.

Mask Requirements

Due to the current rate of coronavirus transmission, we will continue to enforce New York State’s universal indoor mask mandate. This mandate is subject to modification based on changing vaccination statistics and coronavirus transmission rates. For the time being, everyone, regardless of vaccination status, must:

·       Wear a face mask inside all CSI campuses and office buildings. This includes while taking classes, working in a non-enclosed space such as a library cubicle or other open seating, regardless of physical distance from others.

·       Wear a mask outdoors on campus when unable to maintain physical distance from others (for example, while attending a CSI gathering or sporting event).

·       The only exceptions to wearing a mask inside are:

·       If a fully vaccinated person is alone in an enclosed space such as an office, conference room, or dorm room.

·       Briefly while eating or drinking, provided social distancing is maintained.

These exceptions do not apply to anyone who is not yet fully vaccinated. Those individuals must always wear masks indoors and outdoors while on campus, including in enclosed spaces, except when eating (in which case they must maintain strict social distancing from other individuals).

Physical Distancing

Physical distancing means keeping space of at least six feet (about two arm lengths) between people who are not from your household in both indoor and outdoor spaces.

·       Since students are expected to be vaccinated in the Spring 2022 semester (except for those granted medical or religious exemptions), physical distancing will not be a required safety measure for classroom and educational settings.

·       People who are not fully vaccinated should continue to practice physical distancing; however, fully vaccinated individuals do not need to maintain social distancing.

·       CSI will eliminate the six-feet required social distancing requirement except in spaces where ventilation cannot be optimized:

o   Elevators will display occupancy signage.

o   Some storage and file rooms will display occupancy signage.

Random Testing

·       Per the University-wide email from EVCs Batista and Lemons dated November 17, 2021, CUNY’s random COVID-19 testing program for vaccinated employees is underway. If you are selected for random testing in any given week, you will receive an email from no-reply@cleared4work.com with instructions to complete your registration and will have to test at a CUNY test site by the specified date (no appointment necessary). If you already completed your Cleared4 registration in the past, please just confirm that all your personal information is complete and up to date in your Cleared4 profile (date of birth, address, phone number, email, etc).

·       The test must be conducted at a CUNY testing site. Please do not submit tests taken from external locations for these purposes, they will not satisfy the requirement for random testing. 

·       If you do not test by the date specified in the email, you will lose your access pass. In order to reactivate your pass, please go to a CUNY Testing Site (no appointment necessary) and take a test. If you receive a negative test, your pass will be reinstated.

·       As a reminder, being tested when you are notified is not optional and is necessary in order to obtain campus-wide results each week and thus help keep everyone safe.

What to do if you test positive for COVID-19

If you are experiencing symptoms and/or have a confirmed positive test, please do not come to campus. Please also contact the appropriate office below to begin contact tracing procedures and receive necessary guidance:

·       Students should contact the Health Center at HealthCenter@csi.cuny.edu. 

·       Employees should contact Human Resources at HumanResources@csi.cuny.edu

·       Guests/visitors should contact Public Safety at PublicSafety@csi.cuny.edu

·       Please follow the CDC guidelines for isolation and when to end isolation. Please keep in touch with the appropriate office above to ensure proper clearance and reactivation of your Cleared4 access pass for return to campus.

What to do if you are a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case

·       Follow the CDC guidelines for quarantine, including those who do not need to quarantine, who should quarantine, and when to end quarantine.

·       If contacted and advised that you are a close contact of a positive case, please keep in touch with the appropriate office below for guidance:

o   Students should contact the Health Center at HealthCenter@csi.cuny.edu. 

o   Employees should contact Human Resources at HumanResources@csi.cuny.edu

o   Guests/visitors should contact Public Safety at PublicSafety@csi.cuny.edu

By Hope Berte