NNMC Covid-19 Response

FROM: PRESIDENT’S COVID RESPONSE TEAM
DATE: February 17, 2022
RE: Lifting Indoor Mask Mandate

Northern Community,

“We are turning the corner, and learning a new way to live with COVID together. Thank you for taking care of your communities, your family, and each other,” said David R. Scrase, MD, Acting Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health. “We still need to be careful, get tested, get treatment.”

Effective immediately, we are lifting the indoor mask mandate at Northern.
Please continue to do the following:

• Practice social distancing.
• Wash your hands often.
• Wear your mask in group settings.
• Kindly honor the concerns of those at risk.
• Use the thermo scans at the entrances and complete your daily symptom checklist.

If you are sick, do not come to campus. If you test COVID positive, notify healthandsafety@nnmc.edu; we are still going to report and contact trace COVID-19 cases.

Vaccination is still a requirement at Northern.

Staff assignments and remote work will remain at the discretion of your immediate supervisor and according to job function.

We will monitor conditions and update our policies as needed. The COVID-19 Response Team at Northern is mindful that we have lost more than 5000 New Mexicans and many survivors continue to suffer long-term effects.

Thank you for your support and cooperation. For more information, please monitor this webpage  (nnmc.edu/covid19/).

FROM: PRESIDENT’S COVID RESPONSE TEAM
DATE: JANUARY 28, 2022
RE: COVID UPDATE & Building Access Protocols

During the pandemic, Northern New Mexico College is following CDC and NMDOH guidelines for testing, isolation and quarantine protocols: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html

In the interest of safety during the current omicron surge, NNMC will be limiting access to the following buildings:

• Montoya Administration Building: Please enter only via the main entrance by the Rotunda or the north entrance by Receiving.
• Nursing Building: Enter only via the main entrance.
• Gym: Enter only via the main entrance.

Upon entering these buildings (other entrances will be updated in the coming weeks), everyone must:

• Record their temperature using the digital Thermal Check Station. Instructions are posted by the device. NOTE: This is NOT a COVID test.
• Assist contact tracing by:

• • • Signing in, and
    • Filling out the NNMC COVID-19 On-Campus Safety Checklist. Employees can access this checklist online.
    • If you get a RED alert, please go home, quarantine, and notify healthandsafety@nnmc.edu

Please remember:

• Everyone must show proof of vaccination or an approved exemption to access campus facilities, events, programs, services and activities in person.
• Masks are required at all times in Northern’s buildings. We recommend that you upgrade your mask to N95 or KN95 as per CDC guidance.

For more information and NNMC's COVID protocols:

• Check this COVID Response page often: nnmc.edu/covid19/
• For Covid testing sites: https://cv.nmhealth.org/public-health-screening-and-testing/

Thank you all for working together to help protect the health and safety of our campus community!

Northern New Mexico College
COVID Health and Safety Standards
2021-22 Academic Year

Administrative Mandate Originally Issued: August 23, 2021
Board of Regents Affirmed:  October 12, 2021
Updated:  January 2022

MANDATE:

To protect and preserve the health, safety and welfare of the NNMC community: Until further notice, only vaccinated NNMC officials, employees, and students are allowed to access College facilities, events, and programs, as well as invited guests who are fully vaccinated with proof of vaccination.

NNMC Mask/Face Covering Policy

Research shows that transmission of COVID-19 is greatly reduced and lives are saved when all individuals wear face coverings while in public. Vaccination is also an effective tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19. It is the shared responsibility of the entire NNMC community to protect not only their health but the health of those who are most vulnerable for serious illness and death from COVID-19.

This guidance is separate and distinct from the NNMC’s Vaccination Policy (see below). Please refer to that policy for more information about vaccination requirements at the college.

Northern New Mexico College requires masks to be worn indoors by all individuals on both campuses, as well as at any college-related off-campus activities. Masks must be worn in any indoor group setting, including classrooms.

All students, faculty, staff and visitors should wear their masks at all times in Northern’s buildings unless they are eating, drinking, or in an office alone. Please help us continue good public health practices (handwashing; staying home when ill; physical distancing, when possible; mask-wearing, etc.) so we all stay safe and healthy.

Some exceptions to the mask mandate:

• someone who is unable to remove a face covering without assistance;
• a person granted a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• while giving a speech for broadcast or an audience while maintaining physical distance of at least twelve feet from others (this exception does not apply to classroom instruction)
• when asked to temporarily remove a face covering for identification purposes.

NNMC Vaccination Policy

PURPOSE
To protect and preserve the health, safety and welfare of the College community, Northern New Mexico College requires that all faculty, staff, students and visitors accessing College facilities, events and programs be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

This mandate, effective October 15, 2021, requires all NNMC faculty, staff, students and visitors who access campus facilities, events, programs, services and activities in person to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, subject to limited exemptions as noted below.

Proof of full vaccination must be provided to the NNMC Health and Safety Officer at healthandsafety@nnmc.edu.

• Students, faculty, and staff who complete their vaccination protocols after October 15, 2021, will be allowed access to College facilities, events, and programs once proof of full vaccination is provided to the NNMC Health and Safety Officer at healthandsafety@nnmc.edu.
• Exemptions will be considered on a limited and narrow basis. Please see the section “Accommodations/Exemptions” below for details.
• Off-campus Activities: If your duties to the College require you to be physically present off campus at a gathering of any kind, you are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Proof of full vaccination status must be provided to the NMMC Health and Safety Officer at healthandsafety@nnmc.edu, unless the college grants an exemption as noted below.

IMPLEMENTATION:

• This vaccine requirement has been implemented starting August 15, 2021 and applies to all visitors to NNMC campuses and activities. NNMC personnel and students who access NNMC facilities, programs, events, services and activities located on both the Española Campus and the El Rito Campus are required to provide proof of vaccination. This mandate remains in place until June 30, 2022, is subject to be periodically revised, and may be extended beyond June 30, 2022.
• Campus facilities include, but are not limited to, office buildings, libraries, classrooms, research laboratories, dining facilities, residence halls, student center, athletics facilities, entertainment venues, gymnasiums, and College transportation.
• In addition to required vaccinations, COVID-safe practices are currently in force and must be followed at all locations listed above in accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance and the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH)

ACCOMODATIONS/EXEMPTIONS:

• NNMC students, faculty, and staff may apply for medical or religious exemptions to this vaccination mandate. Each exemption application will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Application for an exemption does not guarantee approval. Those requesting a vaccine exemption should complete either an NNMC Medical Condition Accommodation Request or an NNMC Religious Accommodation Request.
• Prior to coming to class or work, NNMC students, faculty, and staff who are granted an exemption will only be permitted to access College facilities for educational purposes, participation as a member of an athletic team or staff, or for on-duty employment purposes. Any granted exemption does not apply to attendance of extracurricular or spectator activities or events. In order for the exemption to remain valid and still in effect, NNMC students, faculty, and staff who are granted an exemption will be required to submit proof of a negative COVID test to healthandsafety@nnmc.edu by Thursday at 5 pm each school week. The test results must be dated within 72 hours of submission to be considered valid and sufficient. If health and safety conditions warrant it, multiple negative COVID test results may be required to be submitted each week.
• NNMC students, faculty, and staff who are granted an exemption must follow all COVID-safe practices currently in force and must follow these practices at all College locations and at all off campus locations while engaged in College activities in accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance and the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) mandates.
• Failure to comply with COVID-safe practices, as described below, during College activities may result in revocation of the granted exemption or revocation of the accommodation for a granted exemption.

EXCEPTIONS TO PUBLIC CAMPUS CLOSURE

• Exceptions to the campus closure to public access will be on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the College President or the College President’s designee. Examples include restricted access for contractors, vendors, and pick-up and delivery services. In such instances, restricted access will be considered upon proof of vaccination.

EXISTING POLICIES CONCERNING COVID-SAFE PRACTICES

• Masks are required indoors per CDC guidance and NMDOH mandates.
• If you begin to feel ill while on campus, please leave campus immediately. If your symptoms are COVID-related (i.e. fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste/smell, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) please immediately get tested for COVID-19 and notify healthandsafety@nnmc.edu.
• If you have been on campus and test positive for COVID-19, please email healthandsafety@nnmc.edu to assist the College in performing contact tracing.
• If you see someone on campus who is violating the Mandated On-Campus COVID Protocols, or who appears to be ill, please notify healthandsafety@nnmc.edu.
• If you are unsure about possible signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or have general questions about the virus, please read the resources and watch the videos provided at the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html