Health FAQs

Students: Please contact your instructor as soon as possible and follow directions from your primary care provider. Your instructor will help you figure out alternate plans for your course.

Employees and contractors: Please email your manager and follow directions from your primary care provider. Employees can also learn more by viewing our COVID-19 Employee FAQs.

Please also see "What are the Guidelines for Self-Isolation?" FAQ.

Rapid antigen test kits will be available to be picked up from the Engagement Kiosk beginning Wednesday, May 25 (summer 2022 semester) Monday-Friday between 10:00 am–2:00 pm. Students will need to have their student ID number ready. One kit per person per month. Test kits may be picked up for yourself only. 

Tests are also available at pharmacies for individuals 18+ as of March 23, 2022. 

If you are sick, please stay at home. Contact your instructor as soon as possible. They will work with you to figure out alternate plans.
Please also see "What are the Guidelines for Self-Isolation?" FAQ.

If you do not hear back from the instructor, email returntocampus@langara.ca with your course number and instructor name, and we will assist you further. 

Please also see “What are the guidelines for Self-Isolation?” 

ISOLATION IF YOU ARE SYMPTOMATIC 

1. Stay home and: 
   
   a) Get tested if you are:
   
   i) at risk of more severe disease
   ii) Live or work in high-risk settings (such as nursing students in practicum)
   iii) Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated (1 dose) 
   
   b) You do not need a test:
   
   i)  If you have mild symptoms and are fully vaccinated. Stay home and away from others for five days and then you can go about your business as long as you're feeling better and you no longer have a fever or symptoms.
   ii)  If you do not have symptoms of COVID-19
   iii)  If you are unsure about your symptoms, contact your health care provider or call 8-1-1

ISOLATION AFTER TESTING 

2. If you tested positive:
   a)  If fully vaccinated, self-isolate for at least 5 days since the start of your symptoms. Wear a mask even in settings where a mask isn’t required and avoid higher risk settings, such as long term care facilities and gatherings, for another 5 days after ending isolation.
   b)  If unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, self-isolate for at least 10 days since the start of your symptoms.
   c)  If you don’t feel better after the 5 or 10 days, keep self-isolating until you feel better and your fever is gone (without taking medicine that reduces fever).
   d)  If you feel worse, call 8-1-1 or your medical care provider. 
   e)  Public health will let you know if you need to self-isolate for more than 10 days.
   
   
3. If you tested negative:
   a) Self-isolate until your symptoms improve and you feel well enough to return to regular activities.
   b) If you had a fever, stay home until the fever is gone (without taking medicine that reduces fever).

STUDENT ABSENCES 

4. In accordance with Langara’s Student Attendance and Participation Policy & Procedures (F1008) students should report any illness they may have that prevents them from attending class or completing their course assignments to ensure any required accommodations are provided.

Facilities maintains buildings in alignment with WorkSafeBC and the Provincial Health Officer requirements, which includes air quality monitoring as one component of our health and safety plan; we will adjust operations should there be a change in direction based on emerging circumstances or new information. We are closely following guidelines as set out in the Return to Campus Guidelines. 
 

Our current air filter systems meet minimum MERV 13** rating as recommended by the ASHRAE. MERV 13 filters provide a high rate of efficiency for filtering smaller virus particles, such COVID-19, carried through respiratory droplets and droplet nuclei (dried respiratory droplets). Our HVAC systems ensure that filtered air-exchange is performed, providing clean air within buildings, and do not rely on windows for fresh air and to effectively filter particles from the air.  
 

In comparison to other post-secondary facilities and buildings – we have advanced HVAC systems in our buildings. As part of our regular upgrades related to sustainability, we have been proactively upgrading our buildings’ HVAC systems over many years. Building A was completely retrofit in 2018 with CO2 sensors in classrooms to monitor the outdoor air in these spaces. 
 

College buildings are run by our engineering team via our DDC System (Direct Digital Controls). We use this real-time digital dashboard to control our entire system and ensure everything is working as it should.  
 

In Fall 2020, before we returned to campus, Langara College’s engineering team worked with consultants from Integral Group to do a secondary review of our mechanical systems to see if further measures were required before we came back to campus at full occupancy. This included a detailed assessment of individual teaching and classroom spaces’ ventilation systems of varying size, location, and occupancy limits. Our Engineers implemented most of the measures recommended in the attached report including increasing outdoor air and ensuring that we are using MERV 13 filtration. 
 

As the outside temperatures go down our systems will be unable to bring in 100% outdoor air, so on the recommendations of this report from Integral Group, we have added portable HEPA filters to areas where they were only able to hit a minimum standard when the temperatures hit lows. We have also added an early morning flush of outdoor air before everyone is on campus and between classes.  

These measures, in addition to other health and safety measures outlined in our communicable disease plan, help keep our campus a healthy and safe learning environment. 
 

*American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers  

**MERV = Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value   

Health & safety is our priority, always. Regular cleaning and disinfection are essential to preventing the transmission of COVID-19. The College will be cleaned and disinfected in accordance with the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Cleaning and Disinfectants for Public Settings guidelines. 

• We have established a cleaning / sanitization strategy to ensure all open classrooms, facilities, counters, equipment, etc., are thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis. 
• Identified high-touch contact points, such as handles, railings, or computer equipment in a lab are cleaned more frequently. 
• Using disinfectants and cleaning supplies that are approved and recommended by Health Canada. 
• Frequent monitoring of soap, hand towels, and hand sanitizer levels. 
• Nightly sanitization of high traffic seating areas, hallways, elevators, and entrances using an electrostatic sprayer. 
• Regular deep cleaning and pressure washing schedule for high traffic washrooms.

Please talk to your instructors about making alternate arrangements for exceptional circumstances. If you are sick, contact your instructors to notify them of the situation and stay home. 
The College is following directions from the direction of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the BC Centre of Disease Control. If you have symptoms, we are asking that you self-isolated and get medical advice. 

• Call 8-1-1 to speak with a nurse. Please note that there may be a long wait to get through. The BC Centre for Disease Control now has a self-assessment tool.
• The province has created a phone service to provide non-medical info about COVID-19, including the latest information on travel recommendations and social distancing. Information is available in more than 110 languages, 7:30 am–8:00 pm at 1-888-COVID19 or text at 1-888-268-4319.

The College closely follows health and safety measures as outlined by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Vancouver Costal Health Authority (VCH). These messages are shared on our website, social media, and additional signage around campus.

Masks
Masks are one of many layers of protection we can use to help prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Masks are an individual choice on campus. We have disposable masks available for any students who have forgotten their mask. We also have recycling bins available to properly dispose your mask. 

You can pick up a disposable mask at any of these locations:

• Continuing Studies reception
• Engagement (Info) Kiosk
• The Hub
• Langara Global
• Library
• Mailroom
• Security
• Registrar & Enrolment Services

Daily Health Check 
Please be sure to monitor your health using the BC Thrive Self-Assessment Tool, and if you are sick, do not come to campus; stay home and get tested.

Proof of Vaccination 
Vaccination protects against COVID-19 infection, serious outcomes, and sustained transmission. Full vaccination offers high levels of protection against infection, including  COVID-19 variants. We encourage everyone who can to get vaccinated if they haven’t already.  

Langara Communicable Disease Plan
Langara College’s Communicable Disease Prevention Plan supports the health and safety of our staff, faculty, and students. The Plan provides information to stop or reduce the spread of a communicable disease and respond to an emergency if one occurs.

For the latest health updates, including information on risk and prevention of COVID-19, please visit the BCCDC website or VCH website.