Please review answers to your questions from the Town Hall Meeting August 10, 2020.
If you have any further questions, please submit to safety@ehs.pitt.edu.
Q: How can we assign someone on our staff as a Pandemic Safety Officer so they can receive the information about the next meeting and communications?
A: You can add additional staff/faculty to our network by emailing safety@ehs.pitt.edu with their name, email address, department, office location, and phone number.
Q: Can you provide the slides from the presentation?
A: The slides and video are available on the right hand side under Pandemic Safety Ambassadors: https://www.ehs.pitt.edu/ehs-covid-19-resources
Q: Does the self-attestation require a smartphone? Computer?
A: The self-attestation can be done from a computer or a smartphone. On the computer, once you log into my.pitt.edu, an app for “Daily COVID-19 Health Check” is available. Click on the gold and blue thermometer icon and you will be taken to the self-attest form. On a smartphone, use the free app “Pitt Mobile” to access the form. Managers having employees that do not have access to these devices should contact Human Resources for advice.
Q: How will visitors/guests access the health self-attestation form? Does this apply to deliveries and contractors?
A: Visitors/guests should do the self-attestation form via the non-authenticated version at https://pittforms.tfaforms.net/423844. Visitors can forward the email to their University sponsor or show documentation on their device of the completed form.
Q: Are employees going to receive masks?
A: One cloth face covering was purchased for each staff member. Distribution to Responsibility Centers will occur in the near future. RC managers are responsible for coordinating delivery and distribution for staff in their area.
Q: Are there concerns of supply and demand of disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, and masks?
A: Facilities Management maintains around 600 hand sanitizing stations around campus. Small 8 oz bottles are available through SUPRA for $0.01 and can be ordered in quantities of 12. Masks are available through SUPRA and Fisher Scientific. One cloth face covering will be made available to each staff member via their RC manager. Disinfecting wipes are extremely hard to procure currently. Within the next week or so, emails will be sent to purchasers to let them know that we will have a supply of wipes available through SUPRA at $0.01 each. These will be available in the coming weeks.
Q: Who is responsible for keeping classroom wipes, hand sanitizers, and gloves supplied?
A: Facilities Management is responsible for wipe systems in classrooms and for public-facing hand sanitizer stations. Gloves can be made available if necessary but are not required for use with the wipes provided.
Q: What is the MyHealth@Work contact number?
A: MyHealth@Work can be reached by phone at 412-647-4949.
Q: If a staff member believes they have been exposed, will they be tested?
A: The University is not testing asymptomatic individuals at this time outside of the initial surveillance testing of students as they arrive back on and around campus. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 or who thinks they have been exposed to the virus via travel or contact with others should call their health care provider to talk with a medical professional as soon as possible. Students should call the Student Health Service at 412-383-1800. Faculty and staff should call MyHealth@Work at 412-647-4949.
Q: What are the guidelines for individuals who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive? What if you are in close contact with an individual who is symptomatic, but does not have test results yet?
A: Whenever someone tests positive for COVID-19, contact tracers will reach out to their close contacts to instruct them on next steps. Typically, you will need to quarantine and monitor your health for 14+1 days. If you are a close contact with someone who is pending results, you must remain in quarantine until their test results are in. If your contact is positive, you must remain in quarantine for 14+1 days (day of exposure = day 0). If your contact tests negative, you can return to work immediately. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 should call their health care provider and MyHealth@Work as soon as possible.
Q: Do regional campus employees call MyHealth@Work as well?
A: At this time, all Pitt employees regardless of their campus should call MyHealth@Work at 412-647-4949. In the future, each regional campus may provide an on-campus contact number for COVID-related illness and health concerns.
Q: The responsibilities of a Pandemic Safety Ambassador assume that staff and faculty will be on location some or most of the time, that is not the case in our department.
A: We ask that each Responsibility Center have a Pandemic Safety Ambassador as we will use this network to help spread information as necessary. The Ambassador can be a resource for staff in your area who are returning to campus or are requested to go to campus for a one-time assignment to retrieve an item or perform a task.
Q: Staff have heard that everyone must swipe/tap before entering a building. If your building does not have this capability (door locks only), how will this happen?
A: During standard operating hours, doors to all buildings will be open. If the door required swiping/tapping for secure access pre-pandemic, it will continue to operate in this manner. Swiping/tapping into the building is now required for health and safety purposes; but swiping/tapping is not required to unlock main doors for building access. Only persons with Pitt credentials are permitted in buildings at this time. During hours of non-operation, special authorization is required to enter any building. Card readers have been placed inside buildings that previously did have card readers on the outside.
Q: Will a student be able to swipe into a classroom building at a time when they don’t have class in the building?
A: Yes. During standard operating hours, the doors to all the buildings will be unlocked. Pitt credentials are required to get into all Pitt buildings. The University is publishing a list of study spaces that will be open to students to encourage them to student in designated locations
Q: As staff travel, how do we determine their need to quarantine and what kind of time must they use for quarantine?
A: University members should follow all Safe Mobility guideline. For most up to date county, state, and federal guidelines, please refer to CDC, PA Dept of Health, or Allegheny County Health Dept. If an employee needs to quarantine following personal travel they should access their personal leave balances to include the 10 sick days that were provided to all staff. Time may be requested from the sick bank if needed by ill employees. Unpaid leaves of absence are potentially available with departmental approval and Employee/Labor Relations oversight for policy compliance after the use of personal paid leave balances.
Q: How should we handle continuous non-compliance issues if we don't have any authority to enforce the guidelines?
A: Ambassadors should refer continuous non-conformance issues to the respective manager or supervisor for the employee. Supervisors should counsel employees to follow the required health and safety procedures. Please be mindful to engage in the interactive process with employees. Should the employee cite a need for a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, the supervisor should reach out to Disability Resources and Services for assistance. After counseling, a supervisor may consider progressive discipline if there are no accommodation issues to be addressed, just as they would for failure to adhere to any safe working requirements, beginning with an oral warning. Supervisors may consult with Human Resources for guidance on how to implement progressive discipline. A special hotline has been made available for anonymous concerns: Pitt COVID Concern Connection.
Q: Will students be doing the attestation every day?
A: Students will be required to perform the attestation during their shelter-in-place period, or if they are isolation or quarantining. Students will be required to swipe/tap their credentials to enter buildings and use thermal scanners if entering at a site equipped with thermal scanning.
Q: What will be the campus parking situation once move in is complete? Will campus lots be available for staff without permits who only come to campus once a week?
A: University’s Parking & Transportation office as posted the following update on their website: https://www.pts.pitt.edu/parking/permits/facultystaff/parking-transportation-updates-september-
2020. It is the September update, but the information is also relevant for the remainder of August.
QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE BUILDING CONCIERGE PROGRAM
Q: The slide about Safety Concierge’s states this program will be utilized in the “Guarded Posture.” Are the Concierges only going to be needed under Guarded Posture or are we moving to Guarded Posture soon?
A: The Safety Concierge Program is active in both Guarded and Elevated Postures. There has not been a determination on moving to the Guarded Posture on the Pittsburgh campus. As of Monday August 24, each regional campus is expected to be in the guarded posture.
Q: If someone is not wearing a facemask in a building A: The Concierge Program is not about enforcement.
A Concierge will politely remind the person to wear a face covering. If they need a face covering, one will be offered. If the person claims to have a medical condition or refuses to wear a face covering, they will be directed to the access control employee at each Concierge station for additional information and will be asked to leave the building.
Q: Will the concierge be located outside the building? Will there be a table with masks? What if the weather is bad?
A: The Concierge stations are all inside the buildings at select high-traffic entrances. Face coverings will be available for those that do not have them, but self-supplied cloth facecoverings remain expected and preferred.
Q: Will there be training for the Concierges?
A: Yes. Training will be provided for Concierges.