The University adheres to the Monroe County Health Department’s definition of exposure. Exposure to COVID-19 occurs when both:
- an uninfected person is exposed to someone known to have COVID-19 for 15 or more continuous minutes and is within six feet of the infected person throughout this time, and
- either person is not wearing a face mask/face covering. Only if both individuals are properly masked is it not an exposure.
Understanding how exposure to COVID-19 happens helps us understand why it is so important to follow three key health principles: masking/face coverings, physical distancing (staying more than six feet apart), and hand hygiene.