Greetings,
Thank you for your participation in the efforts to get us Back to Campus safely and efficiently. You will find an archive of past digests at our website.
King and Pierce counties are in Phase 2 of Governor Inslee’s Safe Start Plan; UW Seattle Campus is in Phase 2, and the College of Engineering is in Phase 2. Phase 2 does not change significantly from Phase 1, meaning that those working remotely will continue to do so, with the exception of designated critical employees, and applies to the College of Engineering and all related departments.
Returning to Campus
- On 11/15/2020, Governor Inslee announced new restrictions for Washington state to address the recent significant spread of the coronavirus statewide, effective at 11:59 pm, Monday, November 16, 2020 until December 14, 2020.
- Impacted UW services and programs, such as food service, recreation, museums and gyms, are working with campus leadership to revise their COVID-19 plans and alert relevant students, faculty and staff.
- The new restrictions do not currently change indoor and outdoor sports of university’s athletic programs.
- Beginning this week, the Husky Coronavirus Testing Program has begun shifting from Priority I groups (Greek Row and on-campus residents) to UW enrollees in groups II and III in an effort to expand baseline surveillance, and will be randomly testing up to 1,000 students, faculty and staff enrolled in the program.
- On 11/9/2020, the University Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases sent a message to students, staff and faculty about testing before and after Thanksgiving break.
- Pre-travel testing through the Husky Coronavirus Testing Program begins November 17th and it is recommended to make a testing appointment at least 72 hours before traveling. Post-travel testing is November 29th - December 2nd.
- Testing of the WA Notify COVID-19 exposure notification app began with UW students and is planned to launch with staff and faculty enrolled in the Husky Coronavirus Testing Program this week.
- Learn more about exposure notification apps by watching the Engineering Fall Lecture 2020 featuring computer science associate professor Stefano Tessaro, a member of the PACT project at the UW and Microsoft.
- The UW is developing plans to distribute vaccines later in 2021 to the campus community outside of the UW Medicine, launching the UW COVID-19 Vaccination Work Group to begin assessments, including an inventory of all current sub-zero freezers on campus.
- EH&S has launched a dedicated phone hotline for UW students, faculty and staff to call with questions or to report on positive test results: 206-616-3344. All messages are logged and retrieved daily with appropriate follow-up provided by EH&S staff.
We have received reports of employees not being aware of the required online training or attestations prior to returning to campus. Please ensure this information is shared with all supervisors across your unit to inform relevant staff.
- EH&S requires this online training for all persons on campus (faculty, staff, and students), even if they have already been working onsite as a critical employee, prior to returning to campus.
- Daily attestations are required for all staff and academic personnel coming to campus.
- For staff and student employees/supervisors
- For academic personnel, including faculty, librarians, medical residents and fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and academic staff
Returning to Work
- Unit/site-specific COVID-19 Prevention Plans are required for University workplaces.
- The UW has convened a Back to the Workplace Task Force reviewing and updating University protocols for how more UW employees can return to in-person work on our campuses.
Returning to Research
- Office of Research’s Guidance for Returning to In-Person Research.
Returning to School
- The Office of Student Life has announced My SSP, which provides students access to real-time, confidential mental health and crisis intervention support, available 24/7 and in multiple languages. Available at: 1.866.743.7732, online chat, via the My SSP app as well as on the mental health landing page on the Husky Health and Well-Being website.
- The UW has convened a Back to School Task Force reviewing and updating University protocols for campus spaces including residences, classrooms, labs and libraries.
Visit uw.edu/coronavirus for the most up-to-date communications and information for our UW community.
If you have info for us to share in the digest, or feedback or questions, you can email us at engineeringuw@uw.edu. Please note, the contents of this email do not represent the full breadth of information and resources available. If we missed something, let us know.
Thanks,
Kristin & Lisa
College of Engineering COVID-19 Response WG