COVID-19 health and safety updates (employee email)

Dear colleagues,

I am writing to share important health and safety updates enacted today by The University of Tulsa in response to rising COVID-19 cases in our community. As students undergo pre-arrival testing, positive cases are being reported to the university at a concerning rate. As of 2 p.m. today, we are aware of 48 active COVID-19 cases in the TU community: 39 student, six staff and three faculty cases. The majority of these cases involve asymptomatic vaccinated individuals who have not received a booster shot. The student numbers continue to increase as students test before arriving on campus. We believe we will cross the 50-case threshold today, which has always been a trigger for more restrictive measures on a temporary basis.

As such, we are enacting additional workplace and campus safety measures for one week beginning Monday, Jan. 10. These measures will be reviewed each week and modified as warranted by the situation. Here are the details you need to know now:

Employees

1. Employees must wear (a) a KN95 or equivalent filtering respirator mask or (b) a surgical mask in combination with a cloth mask when indoors, except when alone in private offices.
   A. Presenters/speakers/lecturers may remove their masks when presenting/speaking/lecturing so long as they are able to observe physical distancing during the entirety of their presentation/speech/lecture.
   B. KN95 masks are on hand and available to employees on campus. Department heads should place orders on behalf of their respective department by emailing facilities management.
2. Meetings should be held virtually unless in person attendance is essential. Physical distancing (6 feet of space between meeting participants) should be observed in all in-person meetings.
3. Additional guidance for department heads on physical distancing in administrative offices will follow this communication.

If you supervise student workers (e.g., resident assistants, graduate assistants), please inform them of these new policies as soon as possible.

Students

1. Students must wear a face covering in all academic and administrative buildings on campus. The more effective KN95 and surgical masks are preferred to single-layer cloth masks. Signage will be prominently displayed on building entrances where mask-wearing is required.

The COVID-19 Management Team continues to closely monitor campus and community metrics. If you have not yet done so, please complete TU’s vaccination and booster verification form to notify the university of your vaccination status. All employees are required to verify their vaccination status with the university by Monday, Jan. 10. Please also note that employees are required to self-report a positive COVID-19 test result or diagnosis, a known exposure to COVID-19 or symptoms of COVID-19 to the university using the COVID-19 self-reporting form for staff and faculty.

Beginning Jan. 31, unvaccinated employees must undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. For more information on vaccination, testing and workplace safety requirements, please review TU’s Vaccination and Workplace Safety Policy.

Thank you for your continued understanding as we navigate and respond to the challenges presented by this most recent wave of the pandemic. The omicron variant is highly contagious but fortunately less severe than the previous ones. Individuals with a booster shot have the most protection from illness. I urge each of you to receive a booster if you are eligible.

Sincerely,

Matt Warren
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer