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Letter from President Turner About Coronavirus Precautions

March 10, 2020

SBU students and families,

As news reports of confirmed coronavirus cases continue to increase, I want to assure you we have strategic steps in place at SBU to mitigate risk to individuals within our campus communities.

A Pandemic Influenza plan was developed previously and modified for COVID-19 with updated protocols for health care workers and for patient care so we can protect the health of our University communities in the event of a pandemic. Our nurse in the SBU Killian Health Center is working closely with state and federal health partners as we monitor the current outbreak.

As we prepare for travel during Spring Break next week, SBU is implementing extra precautions to help ensure the safety of the SBU community:

  • Travel registry — All students, faculty and staff in undergraduate and graduate programs on all physical campuses will be required to complete an online travel registry no later than 2:00 PM CDT on Sunday, March 22, before returning from Spring Break. The link will be available Friday, March 20, through the MySBU portal. This will assist us in identifying potential at-risk individuals if there are changes in travel restrictions or the status of the virus around the world.
  • Self-quarantine guidelines — Any student, faculty, or staff member who has direct contact with anyone diagnosed with coronavirus or who visits or travels through a country or region with a Level 2 or Level 3 Travel Health Notice as declared by the CDC (www.cdc.gov) MUST self-quarantine off-campus for 14 days. These individuals will not be allowed to return to residential housing, offices, or to be on campus during the self-quarantine period. The self-quarantine period is your personal responsibility. Faculty will provide alternate academic plans to help students who cannot attend class during a quarantine period. Anyone required to self-quarantine should call (417) 328-1885.

As of Tuesday, March 10, SBU's Center for Global Connections (CGC) is proceeding with plans for domestic and international global projects during Spring Break March 14-22. The international trips are to destinations in Central and South America. CGC staff are in close communication with each trip's hosts, continue to monitor CDC travel advisories, and will change plans as needed.

The University has developed a web page at www.SBUniv.edu/coronavirus with information about the coronavirus and will post future updates on this page. May the Lord guide us as we, both individually and collectively, make decisions regarding this developing situation.

Shaping our story together,

Dr. Eric Turner
President