Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: March 10

Dear Faculty and Staff, Idaho State University is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation and its potential impact to our Bengal community. The University leadership team is meeting regularly to monitor and discuss the ongoing situation, with our highest priority to keep our students, faculty, and staff community safe and healthy. There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Idaho , but the University wants to be proactive in our response.

As we approach spring break, we are providing an update on guidance and actions being taken by the University in response to daily changes related to COVID-19. We understand that this is a very stressful time and appreciate your patience and flexibility as we continue to work through Idaho State’s responses and policy updates. For regularly updated information, be sure to visit the University’s COVID-19 website .

University Classes, Activities, and Events At this time, there are no plans to cancel University classes, activities, or events. The University continues to monitor the evolving situation and will closely collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, and local government officials to weigh future possible decisions related to cancelations or closures.

Student Absences Faculty are expected to work with students who may be facing illness. Students should not come to class if they are sick, but need to work with their faculty to address their coursework. Faculty questions or concerns related to student attendance should be referred to department chairs or college deans.

Online Instruction In case the eventual need arises, Academic Affairs is finalizing guidance for faculty related to the possibility of moving instruction online. Additional communication will be sent in the coming days to faculty from Academic Affairs.

Combating the Stigma Associated with COVID-19   Many of us are worried about COVID-19. Fear and anxiety can lead to social stigma towards Asian Americans, or people who have traveled recently. Stigma and discrimination can occur when people associate an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, with a population or nationality, even though not everyone in that population or from that region is specifically at risk for the disease. Stigma hurts everyone by creating fear or anger towards ordinary people instead of the disease that is causing the problem. If you need support, or feel you are facing discrimination, please reach out the Office for Equity and Inclusion at (208) 282-3964 for assistance.

University Business Travel Update In response to the COVID-19 global outbreak, the University has followed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and banned travel to affected countries. University guidelines will be regularly updated in the future, so faculty and staff are encouraged to check Idaho State’s coronavirus website prior to making travel plans. In conjunction with Idaho State’s travel ban to affected countries, an additional approval step for all international travel pre-approval requests has been added in Chrome River. Updated step-by-step instructions related to University business travel are available online.

Maintaining a Safe Campus

We are asking the entire campus community to follow best practices to help reduce the risk of spreading any type of illness on campus. If you are a student and not feeling well, stay home. Please directly communicate with your instructors about your situation. If additional support is needed, please contact the Office of the Dean of Students at (208) 282-2794 or deanofstudents@isu.edu. If you are a faculty or staff member and not feeling well, stay home. Please directly communicate with your immediate supervisor about your situation. Managers are encouraged to work with their employees to accommodate sick leave. If additional support is needed, please contact Human Resources at (208) 282-2517. Building managers have been directed to pay particular attention to monitoring and regularly disinfecting shared surfaces across campus. All administrators have started planning to ensure the continuity of education and research, safe housing and meal programs, and how University support services would be modified in the case of a community-wide spread of the virus. Required Self-Isolation and Social Distancing Students, faculty, and staff returning from countries with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention level three travel health notice (based on COVID-19) should self-isolate and implement social distancing.   If you have questions regarding self-isolation; feel sick with a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing; or have been in contact with someone with confirmed COVID-19, please call your health care provider or the University Health Center and notify them of your symptoms and recent travel. Your health care provider will determine if you need to be seen in the office and, if so, will provide special instructions to prevent exposing others. The CDC has recommended steps for social distancing .

Future University Updates

For regularly updated information, be sure to visit the University’s COVID-19 webpage . Check there for FAQs, practical tips about how to protect yourself from COVID-19, and more. Campus-wide alerts like this one will be reserved for alerting our community to significant operational announcements. If you have specific questions that are not answered by the information on the webpages, we encourage you to call the University Health Center at (208) 282-2330.

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Send comments, feedback, and questions to communications@isu.edu .