CAMPUS HEALTH AND EPIDEMIC PREVENTION MEASURES FOR THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR
The Campus health and epidemic prevention operational plan serves as the framework for the University of Saint Joseph preparation of facilities, cleaning and social distancing protocols. The University’s plan also highlights our focus on members of the University’s community, focusing on education and training, risk assessment and mitigation as well as detection and response.
In addition to the planning outlined below, workgroups are also focused on several other areas of in-person resumption planning, including student support services, employee resiliency and morale, and remote working best practices and guidelines.
Prevention measures
- Personal Protection
The University will:- Implement social distance at the main gate, with red tapes and barriers to control the queue and maintain social distance;
- Enforce the wearing of surgical medical mask and code checking before entering the campus (Provision of masks will be temperature and health available at each entrance of the three campuses);
- Require the use of surgical medical masks in classrooms, common areas and all meetings on campus at all times (Individuals not complying with the measure will be denied access to the campus premises and/or requested to leave the campus);
- Encourage students, faculty, and staff to use disinfectant wipes to wipe down shared desks, lab equipment, and other shared objects and surfaces before use.
- Personal Protection
The University will:- Encourage students, faculty, and staff to keep their personal items (e.g., cell phones, other electronics) and personal work and living spaces clean;
- Discourage sharing of items that are difficult to clean or disinfect;
- Ensure adequate supplies to minimize sharing of high-touch materials to the extent possible or limit use of supplies and equipment by one group of students at a time and clean and disinfect between use;
- Avoid sharing electronic devices, books, pens, and other learning aids. Except for library materials which already have in place its own sanitation procedures
- Ventilation
The University will:- Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and increase the circulation of outdoor air as much as possible.
- Water Systems
The University will:- Ensure that all water systems and features are safe to use after a prolonged facility shutdown;
- Clean and disinfect drinking fountains;
- Encourage faculty, staff and students to bring their own water containers to minimize use and touching of water fountains.
- Physical Barriers and Guides
The University will:- Install physical barriers, such as sneeze guards and partitions, particularly in areas where it is difficult for individuals to keep a social distance.
- Communal Spaces
The University will:- Sanitize classrooms and laboratories twice a day;
- Reduce the capacity of the reading room and implement specific sanitation measures;
- Sanitize the fitness room after every ten users;
- Cover elevator buttons panel with transparent film and sanitize hourly (The transparent films will be replaced every two days);
- Clean and sanitise of all the washrooms and all floors drain outlets regularly;
- Provide hand sanitizers around the campus (entrances, elevators, academic building corridors, front desks, libraries, etc.) Additional sanitizers will be provided in the University gym room and laboratories;
- Provide rubbish bins on strategic points at all University campuses for the disposal of worn surgical medical masks;
- Restrict the number of people allowed in at one time in close shared spaces such as dining halls, game rooms, exercise rooms, and lounges if possible to ensure everyone keeps social distance, and clean and disinfect after use.
- Food Service
The University will:- Serve individually plated meals and provide grab-and-go meals;
- Ensure food service items are handled with gloves and washed with dish soap and hot water or in a dishwasher.
Data Collection
To ensure we provide a safe campus environment to the highest possible standards, the University has developed an online questionnaire to collect travel information from students and staff. It will be required of all students to inform their respective coordinator or dean, of their travel-abouts during the previous 14 days of coming to the University. Likewise, faculty and staff must inform their respective line manager of their travelled evidence for the last 14 days before returning to work. The information will be kept by the University Secretariat Office (USO) for tracing purposes.
Monitoring
Since the University is aiming at providing a significant face-to-face teaching component, the University has established a response protocol for students or staff who feel unwell at the campus or in case of a positive COVID in the University Community. This includes isolation and sending them home or to a local health centre as soon as possible and/or cancellation of classes for 2 to 5 days to give local health officials time to clean up and sanitize the University and determine a course of action.
Quarantine Room
At all times the University will make sure that every faculty, staff, students and visitors are safe while on the campus. Likewise, the University is committed to carrying out risk assessment and mitigation as well as detection and response. For this purpose, a quarantine room has been set aside and prepared on USJ’s three campuses for emergency cases.
Counselling Service
To ensure that faculty, staff, students and parents receive moral and psychological support Counselling Service will be available, on and off-line 24/7.
