COVID-19 Updates
URI COVID-19 policies, guidelines, and requirements
New vaccination policy
The University strongly recommends that all students, faculty, and staff be vaccinated and obtain all recommended boosters to protect themselves from COVID-19. The vaccine has been proven to be safe and extremely effective in averting serious illness or death.
Students, staff and faculty who received COVID-19 vaccinations outside of Rhode Island are asked to upload their COVID-19 vaccination dates in the Health Services patient portal. Instructions are available here.
Isolation/Quarantine
Students who test positive for COVID-19 will be asked to return home to isolate if it is safe for them to do so without using public transportation. Students unable to return home will be required to isolate themselves in their rooms for a minimum of five days and will be able to resume normal activities on day six, if symptoms have improved or resolved. Click here for more information from the FDA regarding isolation/quarantine guidelines. The RIDOH also has additional information regarding isolation and quarantine guidelines.
Returning to campus (point of origin testing)
All new and returning students, regardless of vaccination status, 24 hours before or the same day as travel. Rapid and at-home tests are acceptable. Any student who tests positive must upload their positive point-of-origin test results showing name and date, including an image of a home test with name and date, to Health Services via the patient portal. Instructions are available here. Health Services will provide rapid self tests during move-in for those students unable to get test kits.
Masking on campus
The University no longer requires community members to wear masks indoors, except in those spaces where direct academic instruction and research are taking place unless a faculty member waives the requirement. Masks are also required at URI Health Services in clinical settings. Please remember to bring a mask to your classes/labs. This policy will remain in effect until further notice while we assess transmission rates on our campus as we come back together.
We continue to encourage people to be respectful of others and to understand we have individuals in our community who are immunocompromised, at high risk for severe disease, have children or others in their homes who cannot be vaccinated, or are uncomfortable with the change in mask requirements. Please be respectful of personal choice and also stay home from work or class if you are sick.
The University reserves the right to reinstate masking restrictions based on the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and Rhode Island Department of Health guidance and conditions on campus and in the community.
Testing on campus
At-home test kits will available at Health Services foyer (inside the main doors) during regular clinic hours. Please take tests as needed. Each box contains 2 test kits. If you receive a positive test result, please upload your results to the patient portal.
As of Friday, August 26, PCR testing will no longer be available.
Consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, URI Health Services has shifted from conducting routine surveillance testing to concentrating on providing same-day testing for students only who have symptoms of COVID-19 and/or those who have been exposed to a case and identified as a close contact.
Faculty and staff who are symptomatic and/or exposed can contact their primary care provider, visit an urgent care center, or find testing sites in the community. Staff and faculty members who test positive for the COVID-19 virus should notify their supervisors. Faculty and staff should also notify their primary care providers, particularly if they are immunocompromised or at risk for severe disease, to determine whether they are candidates for antiviral medication.
While COVID-19 affects people in different ways, symptoms may include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
What to do when you are sick and experiencing symptoms.