COVID-19 Updates

As we start the new school year, we ask for your assistance to support students and employees by following the current COVID protocols. These protocols apply to both students and employees. Please read through the following important updates/resources:

• Per the CDC, in order to be fully vaccinated you must have 2 initial doses and 1 booster. 
• Quarantine is no longer required for exposures, regardless of vaccination status
  • You must wear a mask for 10 days
  • Social distance as best as you can and make sure to wash your hands regularly
  • Testing on the 5th day after exposure is recommended
  • If you begin to develop symptoms, quarantine immediately and email  COVID@southside.edu for guidance.
• If you are experiencing COVID like symptoms or have been exposed to COVID, please email COVID@southside.edu for guidance. 
  • The new most common symptoms of COVID are: sore throat, congestion, and cough-symptoms that present much like allergies. Less common symptoms (but still should be reported) include nausea, vomiting, and ear pain. 
• If you test positive for COVID, email COVID@southside.edu as soon as possible
• If you test positive, we will follow the CDC/VDH guidelines for quarantine
  • 5 day quarantine from the start of your symptoms
  • You must be fever free for 24 hours with symptoms greatly improving (no coughing/sneezing/blowing your nose) to come out of quarantine
• If you complete your quarantine period and return after having COVID, the CDC recommends 5 more days of wearing a mask and distancing from others (5-day quarantine from the start of symptoms, plus 5 days of mask wearing and distancing).  
• Per VDH guidelines, you do NOT have to quarantine if you have had COVID in the past 6 months. (VDH Quarantine Guideline Updates)
• For all other illnesses (if you are diagnosed with flu, strep, etc), a good rule of thumb is to be 24 hours fever-free before returning to campus. If you are coughing/sneezing/blowing your nose, 72 hours (or whatever time frame is recommended by your doctor).

You may contact SVCC's COVID Team by sending an email to COVID@southside.edu. This inbox is checked daily from 7:00 am - 9:00 am, and 8:00 pm - 9 pm. The inbox is checked at other points throughout the day as well.  Please use the CDC questionnaire (linked in the automatic response email from the COVID Team) if you need to decide immediately whether to go to class or stay home. Those results will likely be their recommendation to you. 

Important links

• Virginia Department of Health COVID-19 Resources and Dashboards
• VDH Isolation & Quarantine 
• US Centers for Disease Control - Resources and Guidance 
• DHRM Covid-19 Resources
• Where to get a vaccine or booster

Although no longer required, mask-wearing is welcomed and respected as a personal choice made by any member of the college community. The college will continue to monitor COVID-19 trends and is prepared to reinstate various mitigation strategies should circumstances change. Working together, we will continue to focus on maintaining a safe learning environment at SVCC.

Click here to learn more about the CARES Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF)

Click here to learn more about the CRRSAA Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF II)

Click here to learn more about CRRSAA Higher Education Emergency Fund (HEERF III) First Disbursement.

Click here to learn more about CRRSAA Higher Education Emergency Fund (HEERF III) Second Disbursement.