COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updates

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 09:58:15 -0500
covid19

Dear UMBC Community,

We continue to closely monitor COVID-19, the new coronavirus first detected in China, and its potential impact on our community. If you have not already done so, please bookmark this website, which is updated regularly. Currently there are no suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 at UMBC and no confirmed cases in the state of Maryland. We are working closely with the University System of Maryland and the Baltimore County Health Department to receive regular updates on the spread of the virus and prevention efforts.

Since our last communication, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new travel guidance and UMBC is updating its recommendations accordingly. The CDC identifies three levels of travel advisories: Warning Level 3 (avoid all non-essential travel); Alert Level 2 (practice enhanced precautions); and Watch Level 1 (practice usual precautions). There are currently two countries with Warning Level 3 advisories for COVID-19: China and South Korea. Due to these elevated advisories, UMBC students are not permitted to travel to China or South Korea on university business at this time. We also strongly discourage faculty and staff business travel to China and South Korea while the elevated advisories are in effect.

UMBC will suspend student travel to any other country that is elevated to a Warning Level 3 advisory by the CDC. We are closely monitoring the situations in Iran, Italy, and Japan (currently all Alert Level 2) and students studying abroad in countries with an Alert Level 2 should be prepared to return to the U.S. should circumstances change. Decisions to suspend a program and instructions on next steps will be communicated directly to impacted students and their designated emergency contacts. Students planning to travel abroad in the summer or fall will also receive further communication from the Office of International Education Services. Faculty and staff members with questions about international travel should contact David Di Maria, Associate Vice Provost for International Education, at 410-455-2624 or dimaria@umbc.edu.

UMBC’s Incident Management Team is meeting regularly to coordinate UMBC’s response to both the COVID-19 virus and influenza and would like to remind you of the following recommendations:

If you are sick, please stay home and rest. This guidance is applicable to students, faculty, and staff. If you are sick and unsure if you need medical attention, please contact University Health Services at 410-455-2542.

Faculty members are asked to excuse students from class if they are sick, and not to require a doctor’s note in order to obtain an excused absence.

Community members with underlying health conditions or who take medicines that suppress their immune system who have cold or flu symptoms should consult with their health provider.

If you have not already, please consider getting a flu shot, which should be available at local pharmacies or from your primary care doctor. Influenza prevention suggestions, which are also recommended for COVID-19, are available on the UMBC response website and the CDC.

We will continue to issue regular communications during this time of heightened concern.