COVID-19 Reporting Web Application

To: The Caltech Community
From: Jennifer Howes, Executive Director of Student Wellness Services
Date: June 17, 2020
Re: COVID-19 Reporting Web Application

With the resumption of on-campus research and the expansion of critical support services this month, we have seen and expect to see a continued increase in the level of daily activity on campus. While the Institute welcomes this return to operations, the administration has outlined a number of preventative measures to which we all must adhere before reporting to and while on campus or one of the offsite locations operated by Caltech. It is incumbent on each of us to engage in all on-campus activities in a manner that is respectful of our colleagues and recognizes our individual responsibilities to the community as a whole. We each have a role to play, from maintaining appropriate physical distance from others to wearing a cloth face covering to staying home when ill, if we are to mitigate the risks of spreading COVID-19.

To assist in these efforts, and to allow us to quickly respond in the event of a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 within our community, a Caltech-managed web-based application has been developed by Caltech's Information Management Systems & Services (IMSS) group. The Caltech COVID-19 Reporting application is designed to provide individuals a way to attest that they have engaged in a self-check for symptoms on a daily basis and record locations visited across campus; this information will be used to help Student Wellness Services quickly trace and identify possible exposures if an individual with COVID-19 has been on campus or at one of our offsite facilities.

Anyone reporting to work on campus or at a Caltech-operated facility on any day must affirm at the beginning of their shift that they have not experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 within the past 14 days. Before the end their shift, they must also log information on the specific buildings visited on campus in which they have spent 15 minutes or more. The web application is a more efficient and user-friendly method for recording this information and is expected to replace the paper reporting log that is currently in use by individuals working on campus. Individuals who do not have reliable access to the internet and cannot otherwise access the web form should consult with their manager or supervisor about use of the paper reporting log. 

Information collected by the web application or the paper reporting log must be stored for 20 days before being discarded; data will be accessed by individuals in Student Wellness Services, and only if a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 is identified, to support contact tracing efforts.

The application can be found at access.caltech.edu/covid19_reporting, and is available for immediate use. Please log in using your access.caltech.edu credentials. For those unable to access the application, please consult with your manager or supervisor about use of the paper log which is available on the Coronavirus Information website and in the Return to Work Guidelines.