Skip to main content

COVID-19 Guidelines for Positive Cases

March 25, 2020

Dear University Community Members:

As COVID-19 transmission continues to rapidly increase within the state, the region, and our community, we want to provide you with some guidance and information about the steps we are taking to keep our environment as safe as possible.

More than 4,000 individuals in New Jersey, including some of our students and staff are confirmed with COVID-19.  Needless to say, even more individuals will be identified with the virus in the coming days and weeks.  Fortunately, many of the cases will be mild in nature.

With regard to employees and students who are physically on campus—Employees and students who test positive for COVID-19 and are physically on campus or in Rutgers facilities should contact Occupational Health and Student Health directly to report the case and seek guidance. Contact information for these offices can be found below.

Rutgers Student Health offices by location:

  • Rutgers–New Brunswick
    • Call 848-932-7402
    • Locations and hours can be found at health.rutgers.edu/locations.
    • Make an appointment online via our Patient Portal (requires NetID)
    • Local Hospitals
      • Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – 732-828-3000
      • St. Peter’s University Hospital – 732-745-8600
  • Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
    • Newark – 973-972-8219
    • New Brunswick – 732-235-5160
  • Rutgers–Newark
    • Call 973-353-5232
    • Visit Blumenthal Hall, Room 104
    • Email: stuhlth@newark.rutgers.edu
  • Rutgers–Camden
    • Call 856-225-6005
    • Visit the Campus Center, second floor

Rutgers Occupational Health offices by location:

  • Rutgers University: New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden: 848-932-8254
  • Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) Newark: 973-972-2900
  • RBHS New Brunswick/Piscataway: 848-445-0123 ext. 2
  • Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Faculty and Staff: 732-235-6559

The Occupational Health and Student Health offices will then evaluate these individuals and the risk of exposure to others in accordance with the N.J. Department of Health and CDC Risk Assessment Guidelines. As appropriate, Occupational Health and/or Student Health will speak to those who are deemed to be close contacts of the individual and potentially at risk. Those who are not contacted will have been deemed to not be at-risk.

If there are locations and areas that require additional cleaning following a report of a positive COVID-19 test, those areas will be addressed by the University’s Institutional Planning and Operations and Environmental Health and Safety staff.

While these are the steps that we are taking, it is important to know that tracking and reporting positive COVID-19 tests is the responsibility of local and state health departments. Any announcements regarding positive COVID-19 cases will come from those agencies.

Concerned employees should contact Occupational Health with work-related questions and concerned students should contact the Student Health Service office on their campus. Anyone who suspects they may have COVID-19 should contact their health care provider for medical care—for some of our students this will be the Student Health Services on their campus. Any employees who are feeling sick should notify their supervisor and not report for work until cleared by Occupational Health.

In these difficult times it is important that the Rutgers community come together to support each other and help stem the tide of this illness. It is imperative that each and every one of us practice effective social distancing as directed by our health agencies. If you can work from home, please do so. Follow the Governor’s directive to stay home!  For those of us who perform very special and much needed roles that necessitate coming to work, please be careful and follow the safety rules from your department. Wipe down surfaces at work and at home—don’t forget things like doorknobs, light fixtures, cell phones, etc.  And finally WASH YOUR HANDS frequently.

For more information about COVID-19 at Rutgers, visit the Rutgers COVID Website.

Wishing you good health.

Melodee Lasky, MD
Associate Vice President for Student Health Services, Rutgers University

Vicente Gracias, MD
Senior Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Vice President Health Affairs, Rutgers University