University of Georgia
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response

What guidance is available for home quarantine and isolation?

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 will be asked to self-isolate based on the CDC’s most up-to-date recommendations which can be found here.

According to guidance provided by the CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health, fully vaccinated (defined as 2 weeks after completion of vaccine series) individuals who have been in close contact with someone who is positive for COVID-19 may refrain from quarantine if remaining asymptomatic. They should mask for 14 days following exposure or until a negative test is received. Fully vaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 should have a COVID-19 test at 3-5 days post exposure. If that test is negative, they may discontinue masking if they remain asymptomatic, but should monitor for symptoms for a full 14 days after exposure.

Unvaccinated individuals who have been in close contact with someone who is positive for COVID-19 must quarantine. While the CDC recommends a full 14-day quarantine, if you are asymptomatic, alternative quarantine options are available. Effective January 4, 2021, the University of Georgia will allow the CDC’s 10-day option for quarantine for those who are in close contact with individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. However, those exercising the 10-day option must have been symptom-free throughout the monitoring period.

Click here to read more about the CDC’s revised quarantine guidelines and USG’s implementation.

We strongly encourage students, faculty and staff to voluntarily take a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of the end of the 10-day quarantine period (test to be administered between days 8 and 10). These tests are administered for free to the campus community by the UGA Health Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

  • If the test is negative, the individual may return to campus, but MUST continue to closely monitor for any new COVID-19 symptoms through 14 days. If new symptoms occur, the individual must not come to campus and must seek further testing/evaluation.
  • If the test is positive at the end of the 10-day period, the individual must begin a 10-day isolation period from the date of the test. All students, faculty and stuff must report positive COVID-19 tests through DawgCheck.