Team,
All members of our Bengal community have a shared responsibility in doing their part to protect one another, our families, and those who are medically vulnerable. Starting now, and moving into the Fall semester, all faculty, staff, students, and visitors are required and expected to wear face coverings in accordance with our
Stage Four Guidelines
. The guidelines provide additional detail, and I expect all supervisors and employees to review and discuss them together.
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I know this is new for all of us, and it will take some getting used to. I realize this is going to feel strange and different. However, wearing face coverings and following these guidelines is about keeping us all safe. It is focused on keeping our families safe. It is about working together to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the lives of our colleagues and students. We all want to remain open. We want to return to our normal routines. Most importantly, we want to continue our mission of educating our students. The way we can do this is by slowing the spread. The CDC recommends that face coverings, physical distancing, and hand-washing are our best practices to slow the spread, and we will do so. This is the same as any other basic safety precaution such as wearing a hard-hat in a construction zone, eye protection in a lab, and wearing a seatbelt in a vehicle. We can do this.
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So, to summarize a few of the points, this face covering expectation means:
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1.
Faculty, staff, and students are required to
properly wear
cloth or disposable face coverings while on campus unless you are alone in a private office. Face coverings do not replace the need for physical distancing.
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2.
Face coverings should be worn in all shared or public spaces such as common work areas, hallways, meeting rooms, classrooms, research labs, when meeting with someone in a private office, etc.
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3.
Face coverings should be used outdoors and when in the presence of other individuals.
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4.
While you are working alone in a private office, vehicle, or outdoors where physical distancing is possible, you may remove your face covering.
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5.
ISU will be providing all employees and students with cloth face coverings prior to the start of the fall semester. In the meantime, please use personal face coverings.
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7.
Disregarding this expectation risks the health and safety of our campus community and our ability to carry out our mission. As such, like any other job expectation or student conduct expectation, disregarding this requirement can lead to disciplinary action.
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8.
Supervisors, department heads, and faculty: additional guidance is available in the
Manager’s Toolkit
and the
Faculty Toolkit
to support you in conversations related to the use of face coverings.
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We currently have a limited supply of face coverings available to provide to employees who have returned to on-campus work. An order for additional face coverings has been submitted, and we are expecting the supply in early August. We want to ensure everyone who needs a face covering right now will have access to our limited supply. Employees who currently have a personal cloth face covering should continue to wear it in the short term. When our bulk orders arrive, we will distribute the supply as quickly as possible. If you know of departments or employees who do not have face coverings for their use, please encourage supervisors to use
this form
to obtain face coverings from the Bengal Depot. On our
Roaring Back website
, we have added information to support supervisors and faculty in creating a culture that models behavior and supports the use of face coverings.
I appreciate your cooperation on this issue.
––
Kevin
Kevin Satterlee
President
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This email was sent to all Idaho State University faculty and staff.
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COVID-19 Hotline
(208) 282-2705
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