Dear Staff,
As you are aware, the College is trying to balance protecting the health of our campus community with the fiscal pressures of containing the spread of COVID-19. An important public health strategy in minimizing spread is the required asymptomatic testing of anyone accessing campus. In addition, areas that people access are regularly disinfected by our facilities team. In an effort to extend our budgeted testing dollars as long as possible into the spring, as well as to make every effort to preserve time and costs associated with our facilities staff, we are asking that employees limit their access to campus between December 18 and January 25 to the greatest extent possible.
Accessing Campus Between December 18 and January 25
We understand that a small number of staff will need to access campus between December 18 and January 25 in order to perform necessary functions, such as facility cleaning and maintenance, campus safety, and other essential campus operations. These staff still must test, fill out the Daily Health Screening each day prior to accessing campus, and practice all health and safety protocols. But most staff should not require access to campus or testing during this period, and any activity which does not require the use of campus facilities should be conducted from home. Thus, we ask you to please plan ahead and retrieve items you may need for working at home over the break.
Retrieving Items from Campus
If you forget something and need to come to campus (e.g., to pick up forgotten materials from your office, retrieve department mail containing important documents), please restrict your visit to fewer than 30 minutes, and visit before 9am or after 5pm. When you are making an unavoidable one-time visit to campus, you do not need to be tested, but you must complete the Daily Health Screening (you can access this on IC Workflow if you opted out of receiving the daily emails) and practice all health and safety protocols, including wearing a face covering for the duration of your campus visit, maintaining six feet of physical space between you and others, and practicing good hand hygiene. Please minimize the areas that you touch and your use of restrooms.
Spring Semester – Daily Health Screening and Testing Registration
As part of our preparations for spring, all staff must complete the Daily Health Screening and Testing Registration form by Friday, January 8. This form asks you to indicate how often you will be on campus in the spring and whether your position is high or low contact. This will help us with tailoring the Daily Health Screening to your needs and the frequency at which you should be testing. You will be able to access this form again to modify your responses if your needs change. If you are unsure about expectations of you for the spring, please contact your supervisor for guidance.
After January 25, if your position requires that you access campus, plan to participate regularly in the saliva self-collection process for detecting the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the frequency appropriate for your position, complete the Daily Health Screening, and follow all other health and safety protocols, including wearing a face-covering, maintaining a minimum of six feet of physical distance from others, and practicing good hand hygiene.
Your cooperation with these guidelines is appreciated as we prepare for our students’ return in Spring.
With all best wishes,
Hayley Harris
Vice President for Human Resources and Planning
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/2020121719172568