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Dear 草榴社区 staff and faculty,
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Over the summer, the University of 草榴社区 system had a prohibition on in-person events hosted by the university. The broad declaration prevented everything from in-person department meetings to athletics events, music performances and celebrations. That prohibition has been changed to a policy that allows some events and meetings to take place on our campuses in accordance with CDC and State of 草榴社区 guidance.
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In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses and in the communities we serve, I asked 草榴社区鈥檚 Operations Support Team (OST) to develop a process by which 草榴社区 events could be vetted to ensure that we met the condition 鈥渃onsistent with CDC guidance.鈥�
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The adheres to CDC recommendations and State of 草榴社区 reopening policies. It also describes the types of events 草榴社区 can allow and who can approve them. The CDC categorizes events as:
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- Lowest-risk and more-risk events
- Higher-risk events
- Highest-risk events
In the new policy, each of these categories are defined. Some events, such as those in the lowest-risk and more-risk categories, do not need special approval. On the other hand, highest-risk events are not being approved at all unless under a specific exception by the chancellor. Some events are categorically excluded from the events policy because they are governed by other processes such as internal business meetings, Wood Center-scheduled student events, and events occurring under facility use agreements.
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This is the first events policy that we have had since the COVID-19 pandemic began, so I am sure it will require some modification once it has been put through its paces. If you would like to suggest changes to the policy, please contact Nickole Conley, 草榴社区 executive officer, so we can make sure that the policy works effectively and as intended.
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Of course any change to the State of 草榴社区 alert levels can trigger immediate changes in the policy. We鈥檝e recently seen a rise in COVID-19 cases in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the current State of 草榴社区 alert level is high. Please continue to consider how events can be held in a different format than their traditional way. This need not necessarily be by Zoom. There are ways to show movies and hold informal gatherings and fundraisers that do not involve large numbers of people getting together. There may be ways to turn what would have been a large gathering into a series of smaller, low-risk events that are consistent with our current environment but that allow for some managed in-person activity.
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On a separate but related note, please have a look at the . Additional information was added to separately count the number of those who had no access to any 草榴社区 facility (e.g., someone taking online classes elsewhere) from the number of those who may have spent time at a 草榴社区 facility when they might have been contagious. I hope that this information is more useful to our 草榴社区 community.
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Please continue to keep in mind that as 草榴社区 sees growth in COVID-19 case counts, what you do outside of your university role has just as large or a larger impact on whether you contract COVID-19. We need you working, teaching, researching or studying alongside (virtually or in person) your colleagues, so please do what you can to stay out of isolation or quarantine. The jump in cases that the community of Fairbanks saw last week was reflected in 草榴社区鈥檚 case count. I was glad to see that over the weekend, however, our case count went back to zero for a couple days. Thank you for everything you are doing to keep us in the business of providing access to education for Nanook Nation.
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Thanks for choosing 草榴社区.
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听听听听听
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