Health and Safety

SF State has created a health screening process available to all campus community members.

Complete the daily health screening: 

After successfully completing the health screening, present your “green badge” as you enter campus buildings to Gator Ambassadors. If you fail the health screening, please do not visit campus and stay home. 

Learn more about how daily screening is a useful strategy for preventing and reducing the transmission of COVID-19.

SF State has developed safety training modules for all faculty, staff and students prior to returning to campus for in-person instruction or work in accordance with Cal/OSHA regulations. 

• Employees and student assistants must complete "SF State: Working Safely During the COVID-19 Pandemic" by logging into CSU Learn before returning to work on campus.
• Students must complete “SF State: Student Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic” before returning to campus for in-person instruction. Instructors will send information about COVID-19 training to their students.

Contact sfehs@sfsu.edu for questions or technical support.

Utilize resources available on Testing and Contact Tracing.

More vaccination information can be found on the Vaccination section of this website.

Our campus will continue embracing a culture of hand hygiene:

• Bathrooms will be supplied with adequate handwashing soap and water with consistent monitoring by custodial staff.
• Hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol will be made available for faculty, staff and students within their departments to use in the event that soap and water are not available.
• Hand sanitizing stations are available in building hallways. 
• Classrooms are provided with sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer. 
• Signage will be posted throughout the campus and buildings in highly visible areas to encourage handwashing. 

Please refer to CDC’s Hand washing: Clean Hands Save Lives.

SF State is committed to keeping our campus community informed of campus COVID-19 case counts, which can be viewed on our COVID-19 dashboard. SF State does not publicly disclose individual positive tests to protect the privacy of our community members. 

Tracking COVID-19 cases on campus will remain a critical aspect of ensuring and promoting the health and safety of our campus community. If you would like to report a COVID-19 case, please use one of the following methods:

Obvious and continual disregard for the campus’ COVID-19 health and safety requirements may be reported using an online form. Please note that submissions are not monitored in real-time.

SF State is committed to working toward racial equality and preventing profiling of underrepresented populations. We will not investigate reports that identify individuals solely or primarily by race, ethnicity, religion or (presumed) language. Moreover, complaints lacking sufficient information may not be investigated.

• At this time, all students, faculty and staff who have face-to-face contact must wear a multi-layered face covering at all times when inside campus buildings. 
• Should you require multi-layered face covering, please visit Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS), the centralized distribution center for multi-layered face coverings. 

A multi-layered face covering means a surgical mask, a medical procedure mask, a respirator worn voluntarily or a tightly woven fabric or non-woven material of at least two layers. A face covering has no visible holes or openings and must cover the nose and mouth. A face covering does not include a scarf, ski mask, balaclava, bandana, turtleneck, collar or single layer of fabric.

For individuals with medical documentation stating they cannot wear a multi-layered face covering, please contact Disability Programs & Resource Center (DPRC) to discuss reasonable accommodations. In addition, SF State will offer alternative services where possible in order to meet the needs of the individual and protect the health and safety of the campus community.

Cal/OSHA recommends a layered approach to reduce risks of spreading COVID-19 by employing multiple mitigation strategies, including improvements to building ventilation, social distancing, wearing face masks, practicing good hand hygiene and vaccination, all of which are included in SF State’s health and safety strategies. 

To reduce the concentration of viral particles and reduce transmission of COVID-19 into the lungs, the University will be employing the following best practices across campus:

• Building HVAC systems have been upgraded to MERV 13 filters (highest grade compatible with the system); recirculated air passes through the building’s air filters before reentering the system. 
• Campus building HVAC systems provide a minimum of 6 ACH (air changes per hour), many classroom HVAC systems exceed this number of ACH. 
• Campus community members will be encouraged to open windows where possible to maximize ventilation. 
• Fans will only be used if the building is without HVAC. 
• Facilities Services will ensure that ventilation systems, water systems and water fountains operate properly. 

Please note, buildings across campus have different amenities and safety features. For more information, please contact the respective building coordinator.

Although the risk of COVID-19 transmission by touching a contaminated surface is low, SF State has enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols in accordance with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), CDC and United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) best practices to further reduce the risk of infection.  

• SF State is utilizing “List N” disinfectants, which are expected to kill SARS-CoV-2, the specific coronavirus that causes COVID-19. 
• SF State will continue cleaning and disinfecting common areas, as well as high-touch surfaces, at least once a day or more frequently as needed. 
• SF State will also provide employees and departments with cleaning supplies.  It is recommended to clean and sanitize personal workspaces often and any shared equipment or surfaces between use by following EPA’s best practices for cleaning and disinfecting and six steps for safe and effective disinfectant use.

Within 24-hours of a newly reported case, a “Notification of Potential Workplace Exposure to COVID-19" email, stripped of all personal information, is distributed to all faculty and staff members.

As we continue to finalize plans for a safe return to campus for fall 2021, notifications for updated safety protocols for the entire campus community will become available and updated on this website.

SF State takes seriously all reports of possible violations of the campus’ health and safety requirements, and all students, faculty and staff are subject to appropriate reminders, warnings and disciplinary actions for failure to comply with these requirements.

The preferred method to correct non-compliance with health and safety measures is a respectful reminder between campus community members. SF State is committed to working toward racial equality and to preventing profiling of underrepresented populations. We will not investigate reports that identify individuals solely or primarily by race, ethnicity, religion or (presumed) language. Moreover, complaints lacking sufficient information may not be investigated.

Matters of student or employee discipline are confidential. Obvious and continual disregard for the campus’ COVID-19 health and safety requirements will be dealt with in the following ways: 

• Reported incidents for students will be directed to the Dean of Students.
• Reported incidents for faculty will be directed to the Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, who may direct reports to the faculty member’s Dean.

Reported incidents for staff and administrators will be directed to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources, who may direct reports to the employee’s appropriate administrator.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is helpful when worn properly in minimizing exposure to physical, chemical or biological hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. PPE includes items such as multi-layered face coverings, gloves, safety glasses, respirators and much more.

Appropriate administrators will inform all employees that the University will provide PPE. 

• For academic buildings, PPE will be distributed at designated locations in each building. PPE will be supplied on an ongoing basis. 
• For other campus buildings, Business Operations and EHS will set up satellite locations for PPE pick-up. The EHS office will also serve as a centralized PPE clearinghouse for PPE requests.  

To learn more, please refer to "FDA Insight: Personal Protective Equipment and COVID-19".