{"653916":{"#nid":"653916","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Taking Precautions as Covid-19 Cases Rise","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs of this week, the omicron variant makes up the majority of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. Omicron is more contagious than previous variants and has caused a spike in cases across the nation, including locally.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe same prevention measures that have been put in place previously can still help slow the spread of this variant \u0026mdash; vaccination, wearing a face covering, physical distancing, and regular surveillance testing. A well-fitting mask with good filtration is a strong defense for when you are out in public, even if you are fully vaccinated.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the campus community looks toward winter break, Georgia Tech encourages all students, faculty, and staff to get fully vaccinated, including a booster shot. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/vaccine\u0022\u003ECampus vaccination clinics\u003C\/a\u003E will resume in January; to find a vaccination site before that, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vaccines.gov\/\u0022\u003Evaccines.gov\u003C\/a\u003E. Vaccines help reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnyone with Covid-19 symptoms \u0026mdash; even mild ones \u0026mdash; should get tested and wait for a negative result before interacting with others. Testing on campus is closed through winter break and will resume Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. Until then, you can \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/dph.georgia.gov\/covidtesting\u0022\u003Efind an alternate testing site\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWe recommend all students, faculty, and staff plan to get tested off-campus before returning for the spring semester, and we recommend each person test again on campus upon their return. Campus testing sites will reopen at full capacity on Jan. 4th to accommodate those returning to campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs of this week, the omicron variant makes up the majority of new coronavirus cases in the U.S.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"As of this week, the omicron variant makes up the majority of new coronavirus cases in the U.S."}],"uid":"34528","created_gmt":"2021-12-23 15:30:18","changed_gmt":"2021-12-23 15:31:12","author":"jhunt7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-12-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-12-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"653906":{"id":"653906","type":"image","title":"A staff member assembles kits for campus Covid-19 surveillance testing","body":null,"created":"1640202894","gmt_created":"2021-12-22 19:54:54","changed":"1640202894","gmt_changed":"2021-12-22 19:54:54","alt":"A staff member assembles kits for campus Covid-19 surveillance testing","file":{"fid":"248047","name":"21C10001-P1-018-web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10001-P1-018-web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/21C10001-P1-018-web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":928812,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/21C10001-P1-018-web.jpg?itok=idEleRAP"}}},"media_ids":["653906"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/testing","title":"Campus Covid-19 Testing Information"},{"url":"http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/vaccine","title":"Campus Covid-19 Vaccine Information"},{"url":"http:\/\/health.gatech.edu\/coronavirus\/prevention","title":"Covid-19 Prevention Information"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"EAS"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}