Dear Gewirz Residents,
As you no doubt have heard, the H1N1 virus has continued to spread during the summer months and into this fall. The virus is present and spreading on college campuses in the D.C. metro area, including the Georgetown University Main Campus, as it is in many areas throughout the United States. Medical experts have observed the virus to be highly contagious but in the vast majority of cases relatively mild. But just like any influenza virus, the H1N1 can have serious implications for individuals with underlying health conditions.
Given the propensity of the flu to spread quickly on university campuses and in residence halls in particular, we are asking that Gewirz residents take the following special precautionary measures:
IF YOU BECOME ILL WITH FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS:
- Call the Student Health Center’s H1N1 advice line at 202-784-H1N1 (4161). Georgetown Law students who may need further medical evaluation will be directed to the Student Health Clinic on the lower level of Gewirz.
- Remain in your apartment and out of classes until you are fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication, in accordance with current CDC recommendations. Symptoms of H1N1 influenza include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue and in some cases gastrointestinal upset. If you have family that lives nearby, consider going home to recover there.
- Contact Chris Hall or Carol Walsh in the Office of Residence Life as soon as possible at: 202-662-9298/9299 or housing@law.georgetown.edu. Reporting illness will allow us to track the spread and hopefully reduce the incidence of flu on campus.
- Wear a surgical mask when spending time in the bathroom, kitchen or other common areas of your apartment. Masks and instructions for proper use are available at the front desk of Gewirz free of charge. If you are ill, call the Gewirz front desk at 202-662-9290 and one will be brought to your apartment.
- If you need food delivered to your apartment while you are ill, and you haven’t arranged for a friend to bring it to you, contact Peapod Online Grocery shopping and delivery service (http://www.peapod.com ) or Safeway online grocery shopping and delivery (http://shop.safeway.com/register). Residence Life staff can arrange to have the delivery brought to your apartment door.
BE PREPARED!
- Stock your apartment with enough healthy, non-perishable food for a 5-7 day period of social isolation. Recommended items include fluids (such as water, fruit and vegetable juices, and Gatorade), soup, peanut butter and jelly, protein/granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, cereal, oatmeal, crackers, and ready-to-eat canned fruits, vegetables, meats and fish.
- Buy a digital (non-mercury) thermometer.
- Regularly and thoroughly clean the common areas of your apartment with disinfectant cleaning products.
- Have available the contact information of a friend (other than a suitemate) who is willing to help you if you get sick. This “flu friend” can shop for, order and bring you food if needed.
- Take other precautions to avoid getting or spreading the flu, including washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze, and covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue or the crook of your arm.
IF YOUR ROOMMATE GETS THE FLU:
- Avoid face-to-face contact with him/her.
- Clean your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub after you touch the sick person or handle used tissues or laundry.
- For students in a high risk group for complications from influenza: You should attempt to avoid close contact (within 6 feet) with roommates or friends who are sick with the flu, and you should not be a designated or informal caretaker. If close contact with a sick individual is unavoidable, consider wearing a facemask or respirator. Surgical masks are available free of charge at the front desk of Gewirz to students who are in high risk groups and who are likely to have close contact with individuals with the flu.
- Monitor yourself for flu symptoms and contact the H1N1 advice line at 202-784-H1N1 (4161) if symptoms occur.
For more information about the H1N1 virus, including links to the CDC website and the resources available on campus, visit Georgetown Law’s H1N1 preparedness website at http://www.law.georgetown.edu/H1N1/. For those students with special conditions that would place them at high-risk for contracting, or complications from, the H1N1 virus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website for additional information.
Thank you for your assistance in preventing the spread of flu on campus.
Sincerely,
Mitch Bailin
