Health & Safety (Respiratory Viruses) Resources & Campus Guidelines

Updated April 1, 2025 

As we have regathered for the spring term, if you are an employee or student, we continue to follow the protocols established by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Particle air purifiers with MERV-13 or better air filtration capabilities have been distributed around campus. Please click on the links below to learn about the current mask requirements and guidelines for the PAU campuses.

Individuals with respiratory viruses may be infectious for around 10 days after they become sick or test positive. Isolation is recommended until they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and their symptoms are mild and improving. Please use an N95 or KN95 mask for the full 10 days, and avoid contact with the most vulnerable people in our communities, including older adults, people who are immunocompromised, have certain disabilities or underlying health conditions, and are otherwise at increased risk of getting severe COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.

Both students and employees are required to report either a positive COVID-19 test and/or an exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19. Please report your exposure or positive test to peopleoperations@paloaltou.edu.

In the event we experience a significant resurgence of respiratory virus infections, we may choose to implement any or all of the following health and safety measures:

• Require face coverings in all classes, labs and libraries.
• Require face coverings on campus at all times.

While we hope that we are not put in a position to have to reinstate these more stringent measures, we are prepared to do what it takes to create a safer and healthier environment for our campus community over the coming months.

We will continue to provide updates through our Health & Safety page on our website and on the MyPAU Portal.