Photo Credit: Chattanooga State Community College / Facebook
Published August 26, 2021
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Following suit with the University of Tennessee System of schools, Chattanooga State Community College has issued a campus-wide mask mandate for the entire campus community, regardless of vaccination status and at all of its locations.
The mandate went into effect August 24th and applies to all indoor locations on campus. On the campus website, they state that “either a cloth or surgical mask can be worn” and that every classroom, division office and lobbies will have disposable mask available.
In addition, the Chattanooga State website states that anyone who has tested positive for the virus and displaying symptoms must immediately leave campus and self-isolate at home for 10 days, followed by at least 24 hours of being without fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and demonstrate an improvement in other symptoms of the virus.
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For those individuals who cannot immediately leave campus, Chattanooga State has set up Isolation rooms.
“Should you become ill or receive confirmation of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis and are unable to immediately leave campus, TCAT 31 has been designated as the COVID-19 isolation area for TCAT students and employees. Room C56 in the CAT building has been designated as the COVID-19 isolation area for all non-TCAT students and employees,” the website states.
For those who test positive but do not display symptoms, the same rules apply except individuals are permitted to be with others after 10 days have passed since the positive test result.
The website states that Isolation for COVID-19 Positive cases is not optional and warn that it, “may be formally ordered by the Department of Health if instructions are not followed.”
It also states that quarantining for Close Contacts is not optional and issues the same warning as above.
The school outlines different policies for the vaccinated and the unvaccinated when it comes to close contacts.
They note that per the Hamilton County Health Department, close contact is defined as being within six (6) feet of an individual for a 24-hour cumulative period of 15 minutes or longer, and regardless of whether masks were being worn.
They state that fully vaccinated individuals who have been in close contact should get tested 3-5 days after exposure and wear a mask in public for 14 days.
For the unvaccinated, they state close contacts should:
1) Leave Campus
2) Quarantine at Home for 10 Days without testing.
3) Quarantine at Home for 7 Days with a negative test on day 5.
4) Notify respective Chattanooga State Community College Officials.
The school has made arrangements for students who do not have access to technology to be able to attend virtual classes.
• The library will be open and computers will be available for homework and online/virtual class attendance. Group study spaces, individual study spaces, and classrooms will not be open.
• Engineering and IT students will have access to Rooms 215 and 216 in the Wacker Institute on a first come, first served basis.
• TCAT students will have access to TCAT 60 and TCAT 38 computer labs. Please note, these labs may be closed for testing purposes a few times per week. You should confirm hours of operation with your TCAT instructors.
• Additional space may be made available as the need arises.
Students may also borrow a laptop or digital device from the school if the need arises.
However, there are a limited number of devices are available for check out. Devices will be assigned on a first request, first served basis.
About the Author:
Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
