COVID-19 Information

Dear Colleagues,  

We continue to closely monitor the spread of COVID-19, and the Omicron variant, so that we can make informed decisions based on CDC and IDPH guidance, as well as expertise from our colleagues at the SIU School of Medicine, to ensure a safe, healthy and productive 2022. As a System, we are committed to preserving the health and well-being of our community while meeting our mission to ensure student learning and excellence in our programs. 

• We strongly encourage members of our community to get vaccinated, if possible, and if it has been more than 5 months since your last vaccine shot (more than 2 months for Johnson & Johnson) to receive the booster, which is a critical component in addressing the Omicron variant. 

  • A vaccination and booster clinic will be held in the Student Fitness Center on the Edwardsville campus Sunday, Jan. 9. Schedule an appointment by clicking here. Full details can be accessed by clicking here. 

• All members of our community, regardless of vaccination status, who will be on-ground in spring 2022 are required to participate in re-entry testing within 5 days of arrival to campus. 

  • Appointments are required and can be made by clicking this link.  

  • Please have your SHIELD QR code for your appointment. 

  • If you have tested positive in the last 90 days and have received an exemption, you are not required to test. 

• Faculty, staff, and students without university-verified proof of vaccination on file must engage in weekly surveillance testing on campus as practiced in fall 2021. 

  • We encourage all members of our campus community to utilize SHIELD testing if you feel it is warranted based on close encounters with positive individuals. 

• Our mask mandate remains in place as a critically important public health measure in reducing transmission. Please review our Face Mask and Distancing Policy by clicking this link.  

• SIUE will follow the new guidance from CDC and IDPH related to isolation and quarantine. The information can be reviewed by clicking here.  
  

De-densifying Offices 

January 3-17 

In offices that are not directly student facing or required to be on-ground, we encourage de-densifying to the extent possible. At this juncture, we ask supervisors to consider rotational schedules or modify employee schedules to achieve a balance of on-campus and remote work. 

Offices that provide critical student support to our on-ground and new students, please be mindful of what services need to be available in person rather than remote in this critical preparatory week and make sure that your office has proper staffing to help students successfully transition to campus.  

Supervisors are advised to communicate with staff regarding schedule modifications. Staff should be prepared to execute their responsibilities when working remotely, given the time sensitive issues that often arise in these first two weeks of the semester. 

Mitigation Framework 

In summer 2021, based on information available at that time, we developed the current spring 2022 course schedule more optimistically with greater prevalence of on-ground courses. We have always acknowledged that we must be ready to respond to the rapidly changing public health conditions in our local communities and on campus. While we are prepared to start the spring 2022 safely with mandatory mask-wearing, required testing for re-entry, and weekly surveillance testing for unvaccinated individuals, we have also outlined additional steps that we can take as a community to respond to rapid changes in health conditions on the ground.  

The SIUE Mitigation Framework for Spring 2022 can be found by clicking here. This framework outlines potential strategies and changes to modalities based on positivity rates and other factors. We will continue to carefully monitor and analyze re-entry data and keep the campus community informed of any procedural changes. A System advantage includes being able to rely on expert advice from the SIU School of Medicine in making critical decisions related to potential mitigations based on local and statewide data. 

We appreciate your attention to these important matters. Be safe and stay well.