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Winter 2022 Return to Campus Reminders

Published: 19 January 2022
The following message was sent to the 鶹AV Community via email on Wednesday January 19th, and contains a useful set of guidelines for the January 24th Return-to-Campus:

Dear Members of the 鶹AV community,

As wetransition tomorein-personlearning activities,somemembers of our communityremain concernedaboutsafetyat 鶹AV.TheOmicronvarianthas made us all more cautious, andthe situation in Quebec ischanginghow wetrack the presence of the virus on campus.We will continue to adapt as the pandemic evolves, as we have in the past.

Those of youalready on campus may have noticed new recycling bins for procedural masks.Starting on the 17th,procedural masks are now being recycled at 鶹AV, thanks to the staffinBuilding ServicesandProcurement Services.

For administrative and support staff, academicstaff and students who will be returning to campussoon, we wanted to review our key safety measures andhow things went in thefall.

Safety measures to follow

  • Wear your mask fullycovering your mouth and nose at all times:
  • Instructors must now wear their mask while teaching.
  • Staff must now wear masks even if seated twometresor more apart.
  • Change your mask every four hoursor sooner if it becomes soiled or wet.
  • If your mask is not fitting tightly, you can follow recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for a better fit: wear a close-fitting cloth maskoveryour procedural mask or use the “” method on your procedural mask.
  • Cloth face-coveringsworn without a procedural mask underneathare NOT permitted.
  • A few exceptionsto mask-wearing are allowed.

If you have COVID symptoms or test positive, stay home

  • Before coming to campus each day, all individuals are required to complete theself-evaluation form.
  • If you have COVID symptoms or have tested positiveyouare required to stay home and self-isolate.
  • Short-termaccommodations areavailable if you need to miss work or schoolfor COVID symptoms or a positive test.Students and staff can complete the form in the personal menu of Minerva.Specific guidanceis availableforinstructors who have to miss classes.
  • Call 鶹AV’s Case Management Groupat514-398-3000 if you are self-isolating because of symptoms or a positive test AND have been on campus in the 48 hours before symptoms started.This is very important so that we can identify and limit potential transmission.
  • When on campus, cough or sneeze into your elbow, away from other people.
  • Followguidelines for distancing.

Ventilation in classrooms

  • Throughout the Summer and Fall semesters, ventilation in classrooms (and exam spaces)wasoptimized, and CO2 levelsweremeasured in rooms without CO2 monitors already built in.  CO2 levels are a good indicator of the air exchanges per hourand most mechanically ventilated classroomshave automatic CO2 detectors.Oncelevels reach800 ppm, thedetectorsautomatically increase the air exchange in the room. 

Safety in the university setting

  • Throughout the pandemic, universitiesin Quebechave been very safe,with very few people catching the virus through on-campus activities.
  • The INSPQ publishes  on their site. (An outbreak isdefined astwo or more cases in a setting in a certain time frame, indicatingtransmission of the virus.)  In mid-December, forexample, when Omicron cases were beginning to rise sharply and testing was widely available for people (so the dataisreliable), outbreaks in Quebec universities made up 0.1% of the outbreaks in all settings across Quebec.This is based on public health data, not university data.

Preventing outbreaks in our community

  • In theFall semester, 鶹AV’s Case Management Group did contact tracing for everycase reported to themdirectlyor that they received information onfrom Montreal Public Healthwhere the person was on campus in the 48 hours before symptoms started.  
  • In thefall, there was no evidence that anyone caught the virus through contacts in a classroom, even though 85% of our teaching activities were in person.  
  • Even as Omicron was beginning its rise inmid-December, any possible transmissionthe Case Management Group investigated on campus could be traced back to people havingclose contact without masks.
  • Peoplehave caught COVID through interactions off-campus andthen have cometo the Universitywhile they were contagious,not knowing they were infected. But thisfall,the contact tracing conductedrevealedonly a couple ofinstancesof transmissionon campus– which shows the measureshave worked.
  • This term,theinformationwe will have to track the virus on campus will notbeas complete asin the fall.The informationin the Wintersemesterwill comefrom calls to the Case Management Group, and requests for accommodations, without input from Montreal Public Health. The numbers will give us a sense of the trends, but nottheabsolutenumber ofcases. There will be a mix of underreporting (people who do not report) and overreporting (people with COVID symptoms that may not be COVID, but who do not have access to tests).

Omicron has created new and unwelcome challenges that wehave toface, but we will get through it.Before the end of the week, we will explain a bit more about theaccommodations process, both short and long-term.


Sincerely,

Fabrice Labeau
Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning)

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