COVID Tests and Masks

 Dear Faculty and Staff,

This is a brief follow-up to President Gabel’s message on January 12 about changes to isolation/quarantine guidelines and enhanced masking and testing.

Masks
It has been determined that higher quality masks help protect us from the virus. Departments and colleges may order enhanced masks through U Market Services for employee use.

COVID-19 Testing
President Gabel indicated that members of the campus community should: “Watch for information from your campuses about where to be tested and find rapid tests, or use this Minnesota Department of Health site to find other testing options.”

Access to COVID tests are still limited and the university continues to work on additional access to testing resources for faculty and staff. A new option made available recently is through the U.S. federal government, specifically the U.S. Postal Service. I encourage all employees to request these free at-home test kits.

As more tests become available, we will continue to work with your college and department leadership to enhance faculty and staff access to tests.

UMD Health Services continues to provide testing solely for students.

Vaccine Clinic
Thanks to our valued partnership with St. Louis County Public Health, we have a COVID-19 Vaccination clinic scheduled this week. The clinic will be on Wednesday, January 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Kirby Ballroom. More details are found on the UMD Health Services COVID-19 vaccinations website, including a link to pre-register.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

COVID Reminders for Spring Semester

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
 
I hope that you are all having a nice semester break and finding some time to relax. I look forward to the start of our spring semester next week on Wednesday, January 12.

As was noted in the email you received from University of Minnesota System President Joan Gabel, we continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 Omicron variant and its impact on our campus community and operations. As a member of President Gabel’s leadership team, I actively participate in the pandemic-related discussions for the U of M System, and I support the actions described in the President’s email. 

I am especially appreciative that our campus community has a high regard for public health considerations and policies, as demonstrated by our high vaccination rates. I ask that each of you continue to take health and safety precautions such as:

• Getting vaccine booster shots when eligible
• Properly wearing face coverings, which are still required indoors at campus facilities
• Maintaining physical distance from others when possible
• Staying home when you’re sick
• Getting tested if you have any symptoms or believe you were exposed to COVID-19
• Washing your hands thoroughly and regularly

These measures help keep our campus community safe, and help maintain on-campus activities during COVID. We will continue to remain flexible and adapt as needed to balance a high quality academic and co-curricular experience with the health and safety of our campus community members. Find responses to common COVID questions on this short COVID-19 Q&A. 

Additional communications will be sent to campus groups soon providing more details about the increased flexibility and other actions we need to take in order to keep our campus community safe.  

Happy New Year to you all!

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor