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Health Guidelines

The OSG School 2023 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison welcomes participants from around the United States plus Australia, Mali, and Uganda. This page contains health guidelines for this year’s School. While most details of this page cover COVID-19, most of these guidelines also apply to preventing the spread of other infectious illnesses (flu, colds, GI viruses, etc.).

It is very important to us that everyone stays safe and healthy throughout the whole School. We will have the best event possible if everyone stays well! There are no hard rules here, just a reminder that we are all in this together.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about these guidelines, please email us at [email protected] or message us on Slack.

Before Traveling to the School

If you tested positive for COVID recently (past 2 weeks or so), make sure to have tested negative before coming to the School.

Even if you have no symptoms or known exposure, consider taking a rapid test before traveling to improve the odds that you are not bringing COVID to the event. If you DO test positive before the School, or if you do not feel well enough to travel for any reason, please let us know immediately so we can accommodate (see below for remote participation options).

While in Madison

Wearing a mask is welcome at the School itself when indoors or in other poorly ventilated areas. We will provide some high-quality KN95 masks for people who would like them and have not brought their own.

We encourage everyone to consider outdoor dining options when reasonable — not just for reducing COVID risk, but also because Madison is beautiful in the summer!

While in Madison, if you feel unwell, stay home or at the hotel. When you can, let School staff know why you are absent — by email or Slack — and if you would like to keep up with exercises and lectures, we will help support you remotely (see below).

If you experience possible symptoms of COVID-19, or test positive for COVID-19, follow the CDC guidelines for what to do when sick. If you learn of close contact with someone who has just tested positive for COVID-19, please follow the CDC guidelines for exposure.

Remote Attendance

If you are in Madison and are sick or quarantined, or if you are not able to travel to Madison, we will support you via remote attendance. We learned a lot about remote events during the pandemic! Some things we are planning:

  • Stream lectures live over Zoom
  • Post all slides and exercises on the website
  • Have a dedicated “online” staff member monitoring Zoom (when active), Slack, and email
  • Conduct one-on-one consultations over Zoom

As long as you feel up to it, we will support you during the School.

Local Health Resources

Here are a few (not comprehensive) pointers to local resources:

  • CVS (2 South Bedford Street, Madison; 608-251-6047) and Walgreens (311 East Campus Mall, Madison; 608-251-0042)

    • Over the counter medications, first aid, etc.

    • COVID-19 at-home test kits available for purchase

  • PCR testing centers for COVID, including those with rapid turnaround times, can be found on the Public Health Madison & Dane County website