Daily Update on Campus Safety and Covid-19

THIS POST IS A REPUBLISHED VERSION OF AN EMAIL COMMUNICATION SENT BY AUP PRESIDENT CELESTE M. SCHENCK ON MARCH 4, 2020, ABOUT COVID-19 AND AUP'S RESPONSE. IT IS PART OF OUR SAFETY & SECURITY BLOG THAT ROUNDS UP ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

Today marks an important milestone in AUP’s Covid-19 response: we have now reached a 100% response rate from members of the AUP community to our Spring Break Travel Survey, meaning we know where every member of our community traveled between February 17 and March 2. Anyone who was in an at-risk area is currently undergoing self-quarantine. Thank you for encouraging your student to take this matter seriously.

Given the evolving situation regarding Covid-19, and in an abundance of caution, we are changing the entrance procedures for all campus buildings as of Thursday, March 5. Anyone entering university buildings – including staff, faculty and students – will be required to have their temperature taken using a noncontact flash infrared thermometer. Staff will be posted at all campus doors for this measurement that takes only a few seconds. To prevent the possible spread of illness, anyone with a temperature over 37.7 °C (99.86 °F) will be refused entry to campus and asked to return home. AUP community members with high temperatures will be asked to leave their contact information and to contact International SOS or the SAMU (15) who will advise them on the next steps to take. As a follow up, the AUP Health Office will be in touch with all students who are asked to return home due to a high temperature to offer support and provide information.

Students should be aware that there may be a short delay in accessing buildings due to the new procedures, and have been reminded that they must carry their AUP ID cards at all times in order to enter campus buildings. These additional precautionary measures are to protect the safety of everyone on campus, which is always our top priority; please ensure that your student is aware of them.

Please know that our Covid-19 Campus Response Team meets daily to review Health Ministry updates and the status of the AUP community. As the virus continues to spread, we are developing contingency plans and are readying the campus and community to respond to future developments. If and when we execute any contingency plans, we will continue to keep the entire community – including parents – fully informed.

I appreciate your support and engagement through this evolving situation. Count on us to continue to make decisions to keep our community healthy and to provide information in a timely fashion.