COVID-19 Information and Resources

No. Even though this mandate has been lifted, we still strongly encourage students who are unvaccinated to seek medical advice and make plans to get vaccinated for their own well-being and for the safety and well-being of our campus and our community.

The mask mandate has been lifted and masks are no longer required for employees, students or visitors at TMCC locations. However, as the pandemic continues and while COVID-19 cases persist in Washoe County, mask wearing is still welcomed for anyone who wishes to protect themselves from COVID-19 or other illnesses. Those who choose to continue to wear masks for the health and safety of themselves or others around them, will continue to be respected, and should be comfortable in doing so while at TMCC.

Appointments at the Health District Immunization Clinic can be made by calling 775-328-2427. There is not an option to schedule a clinic appointment online. However, several other vaccine options in the community are available.

If you receive a positive COVID-19 test, here are the steps you should take:

1. Stay home! Please review our Exposure Precautions/Self-Isolation Guidelines for information on how long you should self-isolation before returning to campus in-person.

   Please note: The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of at-home COVID-19 tests as they can be convenient in detecting COVID-19 quickly; however, because they are administered at home and not in a setting with medical personnel present, there is no way to verify the test was done correctly and which person the test was collected from. Because of this, negative at-home test results are not to be used in determining if someone can return to work or school.

2. Students, please contact your instructor(s) as soon as possible after receiving your positive test results, so they can make arrangements for you to continue your studies while you recover at home. If you have been attending in-person classes, your instructor will also need to consider any other required next steps.
   Employees, please contact your supervisor(s) to make the appropriate arrangements.
3. Self-report your positive result to our Environmental Health and Safety Office.

The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) and the Board of Regents continue to work collaboratively with local, county, state, and federal authorities to ensure that all students, faculty, employees, and visitors at any of NSHE's eight institutions receive the best available information and practices regarding COVID-19 to ensure the health of the entire public higher education community. View Information for NSHE on COVID-19.

While there are no vaccination requirements for general education courses at TMCC, if you are enrolled in classes within an Allied Health Program, you are subject to the vaccination requirements, as outlined below. Being “vaccinated” means you have received two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of the Johnson and Johnson. However, it is highly recommended for students in these programs to obtain a booster, as this may become a requirement for certain programs and clinical settings.  
 
This is a brief summary of the vaccination requirements for specific TMCC programs, certificates and degrees:

• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)/Certified Laboratory Specialist (CLS): Students are required to be vaccinated for NURS130, CLS courses and clinicals. 
• Dental Assisting: Certificate of achievement and degree programs require students be vaccinated for courses/clinicals. It is highly recommended for students to be vaccinated in Skills Certificate courses (DA 101, 102, 103.) 
• Dental Hygiene: Students are required to be vaccinated to take courses and clinicals in this program.
• Dietetic Technician: It is highly recommended for students to be vaccinated for this Associate of Applied Science degree because internship sites require the COVID-19 vaccine; other courses within program students have to follow College policy; AS-Dietetics does not require internship sites, so students adhere to College policy for this program. 
• EMS/Paramedic: It is highly recommended to be vaccinated for COVID-19 as most clinical sites require it. 
• Fire Technology: It is highly recommended to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to attend the Certificate of Achievement and Skills Certificate programs.
• Nursing: Students are required to be vaccinated to take NURS program courses/clinicals.
• Radiologic Technology: Students are required to be vaccinated to take program courses/clinicals.
• Veterinary Nursing: It is highly recommended to be vaccinated for COVID-19; students should be prepared if clinical sites implement a vaccination requirement.

TMCC is offering several classes with in-person, hybrid and online modalities each semester. Please refer to the Class Schedule for more information.

In-person classes are designated as such in the class schedule, and meet at a specific TMCC location.

Hybrid classes are conducted partially online and partially in-person. For the in-person component of the class, students are expected to be present at a specific TMCC location as indicated in the class schedule.

TMCC is offering three modes of online learning, with many using BlueJeans, Zoom or other conferencing software. In the MyTMCC portal, you can tell which mode is going to be used by looking at the “Class Notes” section of the screen before you add the class to your shopping cart.

The class notes will reflect one of these three options:

• Web Live: This class is WEB-BASED and offered synchronously* online on the days and times listed in the schedule.
• Web: This class is WEB-BASED and offered asynchronously** as a traditional online class.
• Hybrid: This class is HYBRID/WEB-BASED and has some combination of in-person and web-based class time. You should be available at the times and days listed in the course schedule. Check your TMCC student email and Canvas inbox prior to the first class for specific details about how and when your class will meet.

* A “synchronous” class means that the class will meet at specific times on specific days of the week, just like an in-person class, and will be offered using live conferencing software like Zoom or BlueJeans.

** “Asynchronous” means that the class is delivered like a traditional online class, with no specified meeting times.

No. New employees hired on or after July 1, 2022, are not required to submit proof of having completed a series of COVID-19 vaccinations.

All syllabi must include this mandatory statement as required by NSHE.

You are encouraged to be as flexible as possible regarding attendance and administrative drops for students who do not show up to class. This is to protect students who may be facing a self-isolation situation. Please remind your students to reach out to you when they must be absent. Also, check your email and Canvas messages to make sure that no messages from students have been missed.

Please also refer the student to TMCC's Exposure Precautions/Self-Isolation Guidelines.

TMCC students, faculty and staff can take advantage of the TMCC Zoom accounts. Zoom is integrated into Single Sign-On, so no need for remembering an additional password. Faculty or staff might have also noted an integration into your Google Calendar already.

For additional assistance, please contact IT Customer Service at 775-673-7800.

If a student received a positive COVID-19 test, here are the steps you should take:

1. Tell the student to stay home! Please review our Exposure Precautions/Self-Isolation Guidelines for information on how long the student should self-isolation before returning to class.

   Please note: The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the use of at-home COVID-19 tests as they can be convenient in detecting COVID-19 quickly; however, because they are administered at home and not in a setting with medical personnel present, there is no way to verify the test was done correctly and which person the test was collected from. Because of this, negative at-home test results are not to be used in determining if someone can return to work or school.

2. Next, tell the student to contact all of their instructors as soon as possible after receiving their positive test results, so they can make arrangements to continue their studies while recovering at home.
3. Finally, the student will need to submit a self-report of their positive result to our Environmental Health and Safety Office.

Please refer to TMCC's Exposure Precautions/Self-Isolation guidelines for more information.

If you were exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 or have been told by a healthcare provider or public health authority that you were exposed, here are the steps that you should take, regardless of your vaccination status or if you have had a previous infection. Learn how COVID-19 spreads and the factors that make risk of spread higher or lower.

If a faculty member must miss class due to a COVID-19 infection, what is TMCC's policy if they are too ill to return? Will the department be asked to find a substitute, or will the class be canceled?

In the case that a faculty member is too ill to teach, the faculty's Chair, Dean and/or the VPAA will work together to find a substitute to teach the class.

Please refer to TMCC's Exposure Precautions/Self-Isolation Guidelines for more information.

If a student has tested positive for COVID-19, the Washoe County Health District or their doctor would give them isolation instructions. If you tested positive using an at home antigen/rapid COVID-19 test, the most recent CDC guidelines prescribe a minimum of 5 days of isolation followed by 5 days of strict mask-wearing.

TMCC's Human Resources has developed procedures and a request form should you fall into one of those categories and would like to submit a temporary request to work remotely. For specific information and eligibility requirements, please visit the Human Resources website.

Download a full-size PDF of this Coronavirus Infographic

Receiving a COVID-19 vaccine is strongly encouraged for NSHE students, faculty and staff, however it is not mandatory. Additionally, we encourage you to follow the everyday preventive actions recommended by the CDC, which include:

• To protect yourself and others from COVID-19, CDC continues to recommend that you wear the most protective mask you can, that fits well and that you will wear consistently. Learn about the types of masks.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing;
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol;
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands;
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
• Stay home when you are sick (and see your physician if in doubt); and
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue (then throw the tissue in the trash)
• If you know someone who is in self-isolation, please consider supporting them through emails and texts, but respect their space; do not visit them in person.

Please see the CDC FAQs for more of these measures and for more information about the coronavirus.

Novel coronavirus COVID-19 is a virus strain that originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China that has spread among humans since December 2019.

The virus spreads through the air by coughing and sneezing. Close personal contact such as caring for or living in close contact with a person who is ill can also put you at risk.

It does not spread through items shipped by China.

The symptoms of COVID-19 include: fever, cough, difficulty breathing and severe respiratory illness. Symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

You can prevent yourself from getting COVID-19 by washing your hands with soap and water, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands, avoiding contact with people who are sick, staying home when you are sick and coughing or sneezing into a tissue or sleeve and not into the open air.

All the above information still applies to keep from getting the flu.

Please Keep Respect and Empathy in Mind

Continue to exercise compassion and patience toward all members of the NSHE community, and recognize that our top priority is the health and safety of you all.

While there is understandable anxiety about the coronavirus, it is important to keep in mind that viruses cannot target people from specific populations, ethnicities and racial backgrounds. By maintaining perspective—and respect for all people—we can help to mitigate unnecessary discrimination and stigma against each other. The best course of action is to maintain respect and empathy for everyone; we are in this together.

We encourage you to visit the CDC website and to read their statement on stigma and resiliency and their list of five facts that can help you to stop the spread of rumors and the spread of the virus.

We will continue to monitor this situation, and our Environmental Health and Safety Office will continue to provide updates on guidelines and recommendations to help promote the health and safety of our campus.