Dear UMB Community,

 

Please remember that because of the increased risk of COVID-19 transmission after spring break, UMB students, faculty, and staff who will be on campus (UMB-owned and -operated facilities in Baltimore) between March 22 and April 3, 2021, must:

 

 

The spring break testing requirement does not apply if you do not plan to be on campus between March 22 and April 3. Please note: Students, faculty, and staff who are approved to be on campus for the first time are required to have a COVID-19 test that was obtained within 14 days prior to their first day on campus. The negative COVID-19 test result or proof of vaccination must be uploaded into SAFE on Campus (or Castle Branch) before arriving on campus.

 

Many in our UMB community have been vaccinated against COVID-19. As such, you may submit proof of being fully vaccinated in place of a negative COVID-19 test result. To be considered fully vaccinated for this round of testing, you must have received the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine by March 20, 2021. This is required because you are not considered fully vaccinated until it has been more than two weeks since you received either the second shot of a two-dose vaccine or the one shot of the single-dose vaccine. If you have already uploaded your proof of vaccination into SAFE on Campus (or Castle Branch), you do not need to upload it again.

 

UMB continues to strongly advise people to refrain from nonessential travel. Travel Guidelines can be found here.

 

Students, faculty, or staff who test positive for COVID-19 should immediately self-isolate and contact the UMB COVID-19 Hotline (1-800-701-9863).   

 

Please continue to do everything that you can to protect yourselves and each other.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS

President

 

 

FAQs  

 

1.    My school tests me on a routine basis for COVID-19. Do I need to get another COVID-19 test as required under the 2021 spring break COVID-19 testing requirement?  

 

If you are being tested for COVID-19 as part of an ongoing COVID-19 testing program at your school, you may be exempt from the 2021 spring break COVID-19 testing requirement. Your school can provide guidance on whether its COVID-19 testing program exempts you from the 2021 spring break COVID-19 testing requirement.

 

2.    I attend classes only at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) campus and am being tested for COVID-19 in accordance with USG COVID-19 testing requirements. Do I also need to be tested for COVID-19 under UMB’s 2021 spring break COVID-19 testing requirement? 

 

No.

 

However, when returning to the UMB campus for the first time, you remain subject to the Jan. 10, 2021, mandatory COVID-19 testing requirement. This requires a COVID-19 test that was obtained within 14 days prior to your first day on campus. The negative COVID-19 test result must be uploaded into SAFE on Campus (or Castle Branch) before arriving on campus. A negative COVID-19 result from testing at USG may be submitted to fulfill this requirement, if the negative test result is from a COVID-19 test taken within 14 days prior to your first day on campus. 

 

3.    I am returning to campus for the first time. Which COVID-19 testing requirement should I follow?  

 

Students, faculty, and staff returning to campus for the first time, regardless of when this occurs, remain subject to the Jan. 10, 2021, mandatory COVID-19 testing requirement. This requires a COVID-19 test that was obtained within 14 days prior to your first day on campus. The negative COVID-19 test result must be uploaded into SAFE on Campus (or Castle Branch) before arriving on campus. 

 

If your first date back on campus is during the University’s spring break (March 14 to March 21) or post-spring break testing window (March 22 to April 3), then you only need to be tested for COVID-19 in accordance with the Jan. 10, 2021, mandatory COVID-19 testing requirement for all returning students, faculty, and staff. 

 

4. I received a COVID-19 vaccine. Do I still have to abide by UMB COVID-19 testing protocols? 

 

You may submit proof of being fully vaccinated in place of a negative COVID-19 test result. Please upload to SAFE (or Castle Branch).

 

To be considered fully vaccinated for this round of testing, you must have received the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine by March 20, 2021. This is required because you are not considered fully vaccinated until it has been more than two weeks since you received either the second shot of a two-dose vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or the one shot of the single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson/Janssen). 

 

Vaccinated students, faculty, or staff who are experiencing COVID-like symptoms or who believe that they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive should immediately contact the UMB COVID-19 Hotline at 800-701-9863. 

 

5. I have already submitted proof of vaccination into SAFE on Campus (or Castle Branch) or the UMB Vaccination Tracking Form, do I need to do it again for the Mandatory COVID-19 Testing for people on campus between March 22 and April 3?

 

No

 

6. I am coming to the Southern Management Corporation Campus Center for the vaccination clinic, either to receive the vaccine or support operations as an employee or volunteer, or I am going to a clinical site. Does the spring break testing requirement apply to me?

 

No.