Coronavirus Updates

May 25, 2022

The landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shift as Hillsborough County (along with most of the country) is now living in what is considered to be an endemic response to COVID-19.  While the virus is still present within our communities, hospitalizations remain low due to active public health strategies that include mask use (when appropriate), vaccination, hand washing and effective COVID-19 treatments.

In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Florida Department of Health Guidelines, contact tracing remains indicated for the following three high-risk transmission settings: Long-Term Care Facilities, Group Homes and Correctional Institutions due to the close living and working conditions. 

With the advancement of both prevention and treatment options, contact tracing is no longer indicated as the primary defense against the spread of COVID-19.   The regional infection control teams at the Hillsborough County Health Department are no longer completing communitywide contact tracing and will only activate contact tracing protocols for outbreaks within one of these three high-risk transmission settings.  As of May 31, HCC will also discontinue our Hawk Tracing Protocol.  

While the Hawk Tracing Protocol is being discontinued, the College will continue to provide COVID-19 prevention resources throughout our campuses.  These include:

• Maintaining our COVID-19 Campus Resource Persons team to monitor the state of the endemic, assist with policy issues related to COVID-19 and work with individual campus leadership with COVID-related inquiries.
• Continuing to fully stock our COVID-19 Kiosks.
• Providing the HCC community with the latest COVID-19 information and community-based resources.
• Our COVID-19 Campus Resource Persons will remain available to answer your questions.

The Back To The Nest webpages will continue to be the repository for all HCC COVID-19-related information including vaccination and testing sites.

HCC will continue with the “if you are sick, stay home” policy.  Individuals should follow CDC recommendations related to exposure and quarantine for COVID-19 and the flu.    We are also developing further guidelines for faculty, staff and students to follow when this occurs.  If you feel ill, please contact your instructor, supervisor or dean/manager and do not come to campus.

Dr. Ken Atwater

See Previous COVID-19 Updates

This notice is intended for all faculty members.  Deans – please ensure that this notice is forwarded to your part-time, adjunct faculty. 

As more HCC faculty return to onsite classes in the Fall of 2021, we understand there are questions concerning returning to the campuses. We will continue to monitor and follow the CDC recommendations, recognizing that they may change as we get closer to the fall semester.   

HCC will provide reasonable accommodation(s) to all qualified employees with known disabilities, where the disability affects the performance of their essential functions, except where doing so would be duly disruptive or would result in an undue hardship.

If an employee has an underlying health condition and wishes to submit a Request for a Reasonable Accommodation, the employee should contact Human Resources at hradarequest@hccfl.edu.  Attached are the forms needed to request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The medical provider should complete the ADA Medical Inquiry form and the employee should complete the ADA Request for Reasonable Accommodation form. The completed forms can be emailed to the hradarequest@hccfl.edu mailbox or can be faxed to 813.253.7034.

Faculty members with a medical condition that may place them at higher risk for severe illness due to COVID-19 (per the CDC guidelines), a pre-existing physical or mental disability or were already receiving a reasonable accommodation, may be entitled to an accommodation, including one that allows the faculty member to perform their job duties remotely. HCC will make every effort to assist employees and remain flexible to work with individual employees on a case by case basis.

As a reminder, an employee is not entitled to an accommodation under the ADA to avoid exposing a family member or someone they reside with who may be at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to an underlying medical condition. Employees who are caring for a spouse, domestic partner, parent or child with a serious health condition other than COVID-19 may be eligible for leave under the Family/Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Contact Kim Pasquinelli in Human Resources (kpasquinelli@hccfl.edu) for assistance.

The need for childcare is also not subject to an accommodation under the ADA.

HCC is committed to full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as amended by the Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act (ADAAA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibit discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities, as well as other federal and state laws pertaining to individuals with disabilities.

If you have questions, please contact Human Resources at hradarequest@hccfl.edu or call 813.253.7108.

• For information, go to HCFLGov.net/COVIDTesting.
• Hillsborough County Opens Third Free COVID-19 Testing Site at HCC Brandon