Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.
Eastern Illinois University's iconic Old Main is part of the face of Charleston.
CHARLESTON — Eastern Illinois University shared its planned response to monkeypox and its continued response to COVID-19 Thursday morning as new students moved into their residence halls.
Many of the university's COVID policies from the spring semester will carry over this fall, with the university encouraging vaccinations, masking being optional in most circumstances, and free rapid tests being provided to students, according to a campus-wide email sent from Eric Davidson, executive director of health and counseling services at EIU.
Students will still be expected to communicate with the university if they test positive for COVID. The university is asking students to reach out to the on-campus medical clinic if they are symptomatic, and to take precautions to isolate themselves as much as possible.
If students test positive from off-campus testing, they are asked to report their illness to the university for contact tracing.
In a new concern for the university, EIU also released guidance regarding monkeypox.
So far, no cases have been reported in Coles County, but the university is working closely with the Coles County Health Department to prepare for potential cases on campus.
Monkeypox, a viral disease similar to smallpox but with milder symptoms, can be spread through close contact such as direct contact with rashes, intimate physical contact and prolonged face-to-face contact. Symptoms can include fever, headache, exhaustion, and a rash that may be painful or itchy.
EIU will implement infectious disease prevention and care plans, such as isolation and support services, and creating educational materials that will be available on campus.
Students who become symptomatic for monkeypox are asked to contact EIU's medical clinic or an off-campus entity to be tested. Students who have contracted monkeypox will be strongly encouraged to return home for self-isolation, due to the long isolation period of up to 28 days.
Plans for both COVID-19 and monkeypox are expected to evolve over time. Students and staff can keep up to date by checking the university's medical clinic website at www.eiu.edu/health.
Healthcare workers with New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene help people register for the monkeypox vaccine at one of the City's vaccination sites, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in New York. The World Health Organization recently declared that the expanding monkeypox outbreak is a global emergency. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
People line up at a monkeypox vaccination site Thursday, July 28, 2022, in Encino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Tom Temprano poses in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, Thursday, July 28, 2022. Temprano was scheduled to get his second dose of the Monkeypox vaccine next week but was just notified that it is canceled because of short supply. He is frustrated that authorities have taken so long to respond, and noted they did so after LGBTQ politicians in his community raised their voices.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
FILE - Daniel Rofin, 41, receives a vaccine against Monkeypox from a health professional in medical center in Barcelona, Spain, July 26, 2022. The U.S. will declare a public health emergency to bolster the federal response to the outbreak of monkeypox that already has infected more than 6,600 Americans. That's according to two people familiar with the matter said. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - A sign urges the release of the monkeypox vaccine during a protest in San Francisco, July 18, 2022. The mayor of San Francisco announced a legal state of emergency Thursday, July 28, 2022, over the growing number of monkeypox cases. Public health officials warn that moves by rich countries to buy large quantities of monkeypox vaccine, while declining to share doses with Africa, could leave millions of people unprotected against a more dangerous version of the disease and risk continued spillovers of the virus into humans. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)
FILE - People line up at a monkeypox vaccination site on Thursday, July 28, 2022, in Encino, Calif. California's public health officer said they are pressing for more vaccine and closely monitoring the spread of the monkeypox virus. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
Micro-biologist Annette Atkinson adjusts her power air purifying respirator during a demonstration how the monkeypox is tested for at the Utah Public Health Laboratory Friday, July 29, 2022, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
FILE - People line up at a monkeypox vaccination site, Thursday, July 28, 2022, in Encino, Calif. California's governor declared a state of emergency over monkeypox, becoming the second state in three days to take the step. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
FILE - A man holds a sign urging increased access to the monkeypox vaccine during a protest in San Francisco, July 18, 2022. California's governor on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, declared a state of emergency to speed efforts to combat the monkeypox outbreak, becoming the second state in three days to take the step. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)
Scott Marszalek receives a Monkeypox vaccination at a Pop-Up Monkeypox vaccination site at the West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in West Hollywood, Calif. The City of West Hollywood is working with public health officials at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in responding to the monkeypox outbreak. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People arrive to check in at a Monkeypox Vaccination Pop-Up Site on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A patient receives a Monkeypox vaccination at a Pop-Up vaccination site at the West Hollywood Library community meeting room on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
USC pharmacy intern Gizelle Mendoza, loads a syringe with Monkeypox vaccine at a Pop-Up Monkeypox vaccination site on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Dr. Andrea Kim, Director of Vaccine Preventable Disease Control talks to the media at a Pop-Up Monkeypox vaccination site on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Contact Corryn Brock at 217-238-6858. Follow her on Twitter at @corryn_brock.
Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
The Linder Family Trust, now known as the Charleston Area Charitable Foundation, has played a key role in development in Charleston in areas like local parks and projects at Lake Charleston for decades.
Oakley a former EIU assistant.
These free workshops will cover how to assess/determine your job related skills; Basic résumé development; How/where to find jobs; and more!
Eastern Illinois University's iconic Old Main is part of the face of Charleston.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.