Kent State’s Safety Principles

1. Wash Your Hands

The best way to combat all viruses is to practice rigorous hand hygiene and cough etiquette. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

2. Monitor Your Health and Test

All members of the university community should self-monitor daily for COVID-19 and other virus symptoms, including cough, sore throat, sniffles, fever, chills, rash of any kind, muscle pain, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, diarrhea or new loss of taste or smell. 

If you have COVID-19 symptoms stay home or in your residence hall room and contact the DeWeese Health Center at 330-672-2525 or your primary care physician to obtain a COVID-19 test. Please click here to review all the available testing options. Stay home or in your dorm room until you test. If you test negative but still have symptoms, wear a well-fitting mask around others. Those who test positive for COVID-19 should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) quarantine and isolation guidelines. 

Anyone who believes they may have contracted monkeypox should seek immediate medical attention either at DeWeese, their primary care physician or other health care provider. 

Anyone who presents with a probable case of monkeypox will be required to isolate until their tests results have been returned, which may take up to six days. Anyone with a confirmed case of monkeypox will be required to isolate until they are no longer infectious, typically 14 to 28 days. 

3. Wear a well-fitted mask when recommended

Kent State is following CDC recommendations for counties at "high," "medium" or "low" community levels when making determinations for safety precautions on our campuses. It is recommended that those at Kent State campuses and locations in counties where the COVID-19 community level is designated at “high” wear a well-fitting mask indoors. The community levels will be reviewed weekly as the CDC releases new county data. 

Access Kent State's face masks guidelines and recommendations for campus-specific information, based on county location.  

Additionally, a well-fitted mask is always required in all our healthcare settings, regardless of county community level designation, as well as for individuals who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Those who have been exposed should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure; those recovering from COVID-19 should wear a mask for 10 days.

Remember, being vaccinated does not mean you cannot contract COVID-19, and face masks provide an extra layer of protection against the virus.  

The CDC recommends that you when you wear a face mask that you wear the most well-fitting, most protective face mask possible, and that you wear it consistently. At this time, Kent State provides KN95 and medical-grade face masks for Flashes, which can be picked up at various locations on our campuses. 

Please visit Facial Mask/Covering and Physical Distancing Guidelines for more information on our face mask recommendations.  

4. Get vaccinated and boosted!

COVID-19 vaccines, as well as all eligible booster shots, are strongly recommended for our entire Kent State community. Being up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, including having all recommended booster shots can reduce risk of severe disease and hospitalization. Vaccines are the single most effective way to reduce COVID-19 risk. 

COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are available at DeWeese Health Center on the Kent Campus. You can call DeWeese at 330-672-2322 to schedule an appointment or use this link to schedule an appointment. COVID-19 vaccines also are available at many locations throughout the state.  

Other viruses, including seasonal influenza and monkeypox, also are circulating. Flu shots are recommended for all and will be available in September at DeWeese Health Center. Vaccines against monkeypox are available in limited supply through the Ohio Department of Health. The CDC recommends vaccination for people with a high degree of exposure to someone who has been diagnosed with monkeypox and people who are at higher risk of being exposed to monkeypox. If you think you had a close contact with someone diagnosed with monkeypox, you can call your local health department or DeWeese Health Center at 330-672-2322 to discuss your exposure and eligibility for a monkeypox vaccine. 

Remember, it is important to stay up to date on all required immunizations, which are available for anyone at DeWeese.  

Flash your arm to help protect yourself and your fellow Golden Flashes against all viruses. 

5. Clean and Sanitize

University custodial staff has been systematically cleaning buildings, classrooms and offices and will continue to clean all spaces that are accessible to employees, students and the public. These spaces include but are not limited to waiting rooms, seating areas in corridors, conference rooms, restrooms and common spaces in residence halls. 

In classrooms, instructors are responsible for cleaning their workspace (e.g., podium, keyboard, camera, table). Additionally, all office suites will have cleaning supplies available for employee use. If you work on the Kent Campus and do not want your office cleaned by custodial staff, then contact Todd Burdette at tburdet1@kent.edu to opt out of any custodial staff cleaning. 

Employees who manage reception counters will need to clean the counter/high-touch surfaces after each guest. Employees who share spaces that are not accessible to the public (e.g., break rooms, copy rooms, supply rooms) are expected to sanitize contact areas in these spaces after each use.  

6. Have Questions? Reach out

For health questions about COVID-19, the flu, monkeypox or any other illness and safe practices, call DeWeese Health Center at 330-672-2322, or after hours, contact the Kent State Nurse Line at 330-672-2326. Visit the COVID-19 webpage for more valuable information, or the CDC’s website for information on the current monkeypox outbreak or seasonal influenza.