Directions for Students Who Feel Sick (Suspected COVID-19)

The novel coronavirus is a new coronavirus that causes COVID-19.  The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.  Spread is more likely to take place when people are in close contact with one another (within 6 feet)

If you are not feeling well, you should follow these steps for non-emergencies:

1. Monitor your symptoms. COVID-19 causes a wide range of symptoms from mild to severe and may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.  Monitor if you have a fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea.  The CDC has a self-checker here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
2. STAY HOME. If you are on on-campus residents, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR RESIDENCE ROOM.   If you are a commuter student with classes on campus, DO NOT COME TO THE CAMPUS.
3. Call for medical care. Students may call Health Services at 201-684-7536 Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.  A member of the Health Services staff will consult with you about your symptoms and an appointment scheduled via telemedicine.  Alternatively, you may call you own medical provider and report any changes in your health to Health Services, 201-684-7536.

If you have a medical emergency, you should call 911 and seek immediate medical attention.

1. Emergency warning signs of COVID-19 are: trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stake awake, bluish lips or face (this list is not all possible symptoms, so please call your medical provider for any symptoms that are severe or concerning to you)
2. Call 911. Notify the operator that you are seeking care for symptoms you suspect are COVID-19 related.

Essential Medical Appointments and Transportation Options

Students in need of transportation to essential (but non-emergency) medical appointments may contact New Jersey Mobile Healthcare at 201-660-1600. We believe this resource may be of particular assistance to residential students. All trips are quoted on a per trip basis and arrangements are made directly between the student and New Jersey Mobile Healthcare.  For example, if you are a resident student without transportation to an off-campus community provider seeking a COVID-19 test, you may wish to call New Jersey Mobile Healthcare to discuss their rates to transport you to the facility.  Passengers must provide payment directly to New Jersey Mobile Healthcare by cash or credit card at time of the transport.  If you are a student or employee in need of an emergency medical transport, always call 911.

Students who are challenged to pay for transportation services to a non-emergency, medical appointment, may apply for financial relief from the Student Relief Fund. The application for the Student Emergency Fund can be found here: https://www.ramapo.edu/sga/student-relief-fund-application/.

Where to Get Tested for COVID-19

Health Services is offering testing (with a fee billed to the student’s account) for symptomatic students who are ill while on campus. Appointments are available Monday to Friday from 1pm to 4pm by contacting Health Services 201-684-7536.

New Jersey’s COVID-19 Information Hub, has information about where you can get tested for COVID-19. Below, are local Urgent Care Centers open for medical appointments and have COVID-19 testing capabilities.

City MD, Ramsey, 551-497-5679
City MD, Paramus, 551-222-0800
The Doctor’s Office, Midland Park, 201-857-8400
Synergy Health, Montvale, 201-677-8680
Valley Health Urgent Care, Mahwah, 1-800-Valley1 (You must bring a prescription for the COVID-19 test with you)
CVS, Mahwah, 201-529-5930

How to Report COVID-19

Effective February 2, 2022, the College will  implement an automated process to report COVID-19 positive cases and COVID-19 exposures, which will supplement and streamline the outreach efforts of the College’s contact tracers.  

Students or employees who test positive for COVID-19 or who are identified as a close contact (defined below) of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 must complete the COVID-19 Reporting Form. 

A close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated. As per the local health department, the correct and consistent use of a proper face covering indoors may mean that a person is not considered a close contact to a case (Sources: CDC & Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission).

Upon completion of the COVID-19 Reporting Form, you will receive an email from mailadmin@ramapo.edu with further instructions. In addition, a member from Health Services (for students) or Human Resources (for employees) will  contact you to review and clarify, as needed, the information you reported.

As a reminder, you should not report to campus (residential students should stay in their room) if you have tested positive, have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or have had an exposure.