COVID-19 Update: What to do if you have a positive test result
This message provides guidance on the procedures to follow when a Smithsonian community member has a positive COVID-19 test result or diagnosis.
If you’re notified that you have tested positive for COVID-19 (by lab test or diagnosed by your doctor) you should:
- Stay home and get well. Follow your healthcare provider’s advice and your unit’s normal sick leave procedures. You are not required to disclose your diagnosis or test results to your supervisor.
- Notify the Coronavirus Response team of the positive test result by following the procedure at the end of this message. The response team will contact you. We request individuals wait before alerting any colleagues (including leadership and supervisors) until you have spoken to a response team member.
Waiting until you are contacted by the response team will not affect the health of your colleagues but will help ensure the accurate follow-up and advice are provided. We do not want to spread undue fear and anxiety through the community and we are committed to protecting your privacy. The COVID-19 Response team will notify your supervisor of any actions they need to take and any primary contacts at SI.
When the response team member (a medical or public health professional) contacts you they will ask a few questions about your symptoms, where you work, and who at work you came into contact with during the two weeks before you started having symptoms. Your answers will be used to help prevent spread to others, and again, your privacy will be protected.
If your unit normally requires a medical note prior to returning to work, we recommend trying to get the note on the same day or via telemedicine to avoid having to return to the waiting room after you have recovered. In general, you should not return to onsite work until your symptoms have been gone for at least 72 hours. You may contact Occupational Health Services for return to work documentation guidance at 202-633-9355.
If you’re a supervisor and someone notifies you that they have tested positive, you should:
- Ensure that the employee goes home, if they have come into work.
- Notify the Coronavirus Response team (please see the procedure at end of this message). Ensure that you know how to support that person through the COVID-19 specific Human Resources guidance that can be found in FAQs on the Smithsonian COVID-19 Response Team website. Do not discuss their diagnosis or launch your own investigation.
- Wait on alerting any of the other employees under your supervision or in leadership until the Coronavirus Response team follows up with you. The team will walk you through the next steps to minimize fear or anxiety related to the follow up procedure and notification process.
If you’re sick and have been told to stay home by a health care provider, but have NOT been tested for or diagnosed with COVID-19
- Stay home and get well. Follow your healthcare provider’s advice.
- Notify Occupational Health Services at 202-633-9355 or email si-coronavirusinfo@si.edu for updated recommendations.
- Please closely follow the coronavirus precautions during any illness that has not had a lab confirmed diagnosis. There are CDC guidelines to help you prevent sharing COVID-19 with the people who live with you. Only if you receive a written diagnosis or a positive test result will a contact investigation be done.
How to notify the Coronavirus response team of a positive COVID-19 person
During normal business hours: E-mail the si-coronavirusinfo@si.edu, with the subject POSITIVE TEST. Please include a description of what you are reporting to the inbox, and a phone number you can be reached at, and a team member will respond to you within an hour.
After hours or on the weekends: E-mail the si-coronavirusinfo@si.edu, with the subject POSITIVE TEST. Please include a description of what you are reporting, and a phone number you can be reached at, to the inbox and a team member will respond to you within an hour. In addition to e-mailing: please call the 24/7, Smithsonian Communications Center, (SCC) at 202-633-9300 so the SI Public Health Officer can be notified.
Additional Resources
(OHS) is supporting the COVID-19 Response teams with contact investigations. Everyone is asked to go through the resource account if you are concerned about a positive case, positive contact, or have other COVID-19 questions. If you are sick with a flu like illness, please call the clinic prior to reporting to showing up. We want to reduce possible exposure by not concentrating persons experiencing symptoms in the waiting room with each other, or around those that are well.
Occupational Health clinics at the NZP, NMAAHC, and NMAH, will be staffed on weekdays from 8-4. NZP clinic hours may vary. First aid support will be available at the NZP Health Unit and NMAH Health Unit on the weekends for staff. Contact Occupational Health Services (OHS) at 202-633-9355 (3-WELL).
You can email your medical documentation to OHS-MedicalReview@si.edu to have it placed confidentially into your occupational health record and a Duty Disposition Report* (DDR) will be sent to you and your supervisor.
A DDR or Duty Disposition Report is a note from Smithsonian Occupational Health Services that is issued with the goal of improving communication between treating providers and supervisors- while protecting the privacy of the worker. You can get a DDR if you are placed in quarantine, are a medical high risk for COVID19 complications, fall sick or injured, or have documentation that a family member is ill with COVID-19 if you need to stay home to take care of them.
Contact investigation: If a person is diagnosed as having a case of COVID-19 SI Public Health and Occupational Health Services actively investigate who and where this person came into contact with others in the Smithsonian. The primary contacts will then be notified that they were possibly exposed to COVID-19, and will be given further instructions. They do not disclose the identity of the person who has tested positive, and encourage contacts and supervisors to refrain from speculation and making any statements that might identify this person.
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Posted: 26 March 2020
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