Dear KGI Community:

The KGI COVID-19 Task Force met during our regular Monday morning meetings to review important updates regarding the pandemic.

  • We do not have a confirmed return to work date. We do not have a confirmed return to campus date for students. We will continue to review guidance by the State of California and Los Angeles County.

Important Updates for Symptoms

  • This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their guidance on how long people who are positive for COVID-19 should self-isolate. New evidence suggests it may take longer for the virus to shed, which means that an infected person may be able to infect other people for a longer period of time than was initially thought.
  • People who are positive or presumed positive for COVID-19 should now self-isolate for 10 days and 72 hours after fever and symptoms subside. This means you must stay home until your fever has resolved without the use of fever-reducing medications and there is improvement in your respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) for at least 3 days (72 hours) after recovery, AND at least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared or you were tested.
  • If you have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed to be infected with COVID-19, you must quarantine for 14 days from your last contact with that individual.
  • If you begin experiencing symptoms, you must self-isolate for 10 days and 72 hours after fever and symptoms subside. Individuals who are elderly or who have underlying health conditions may be at higher risk of serious illness and should contact their doctor as soon as they are sick.

NEW Symptom Criteria

  • Fever 100 F or greater or subjective fever
  • New cough
  • Sore throat
  • Shortness of breath
  • Loss of sense of taste or smell
  • Acute generalized muscle pain (myalgias)
  • Acute fatigue or sudden onset of discomfort or illness (malaise)
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea

General Updates:

Cases – Reported as of Summary Time

Location
Confirmed/Reported Cases
Deaths
United States
1,210,197
69,492
California
50,129
2,029
Los Angeles County
26,217
1,256
Claremont
24
0

 

Good sources for tracking data and updated a couple of times of day:

White House:

  • As President Trump presses for states to reopen their economies, his administration is privately projecting a steady rise in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths over the next several weeks. The daily death toll will reach about 3,000 on June 1, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times, nearly double the current number of about 1,750.
  • The projections, based on government modeling pulled together in chart form by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, forecast about 200,000 new cases each day by the end of the month, up from about 25,000 cases a day currently.
  • About half of all states have now begun reopening their economies in some significant way. Public health experts have warned that reopening too early could lead to a new wave of cases and deaths.
  • The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency approval for the antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for patients with Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus.

State of California:

  • The state will start moving into Phase 2 this Friday.
  • Governor Newsom said that means as early as the end of this week, retail can begin to reopen for pickup. This phase includes reopening:
    • Curbside retail (Newsom specifically listed clothing, bookstores, music, toys, sporting goods, florists, and others)
    • Manufacturing and supply chains that go into retail
    • A region is eligible for Phase 2, Newsom said, if they have the adequate capacity for:
      • testing
      • contact tracing
      • physical distancing
      • sanitation
      • protecting the most vulnerable residents
    • Local health officials and county supervisors will need to certify capacity in those areas to make that shift.
  • Guidelines for modifying the state’s stay-at-home orders will be put out this Thursday, with details on the modifications needed to reopen.
  • Ahead of that release, California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sonia Angell said guidelines for counties to move faster into Phase 2 will be shared later today. How each county plans for their own readiness will be made public online.
  • Another important note: Phase 2 does not allow for all businesses to reopen just yet. That includes offices, seated dining at restaurants, and shopping malls, Angell said.

L.A. Department of Public Health/County of Los Angeles:

  • Shortly after the governor shared plans for gradually reopening California, Los Angeles County indicated it would release its own plans later in the week.
  • Of the people who’ve died so far, 93% had underlying health conditions, a statistic that has not changed for two weeks.

As a reminder, the most up to date information on KGI’s COVID-19 response can be found on the coronavirus website.

Be well,

Kelly Esperias
Vice President of Institutional Development

 

Back to kgi.edu/coronavirus page