COVIDSafe Campus UCalgary

COVIDSafe Campus

 

 

 

 

 

COVID-19 and Respiratory Illness Guidance for Employees and Students

Updated Feb. 15, 2023

Employees and students who are sick or test positive for covid-19 should not come to campus and should complete the Alberta Health Services (AHS) Respiratory Illness Assessment for Albertans and follow the direction and isolation recommendations of AHS. Employees and students who are close contacts to others who are positive for covid-19 may attend campus as long as they are also not unwell. 

Staff may request to stay home to care for someone who is ill or isolating. Please contact your manager for time coding information. 

If an employee is well enough to work but is unable to attend campus as per the above-noted guidelines, where appropriate and possible, they should discuss the option of a temporary remote working arrangement with their manager until such time they are well enough and/or cleared to return 
to campus. 

Please note that individuals who have tested positive for covid-19 ARE NO LONGER required to report their illness to the Occupational Health Nurse.  

If you have any questions about this guidance, please contact the Occupational Health Nurse at ohn@ucalgary.ca. 

 

Informing Instructors or Managers

Students should inform their instructor if unable to attend or complete class content as scheduled due to illness. Students are not required to provide documentary evidence for their absence. 

Employees must inform their reports to manager if they will be absent from work. Report absences of more than 5 days to staffwellness@ucalgary.ca. 

Additional Information

Alberta Health Services

Student FAQ

  • Follow AHS recommendations and inform your instructor of your illness.  
  • Review your course outline and email your professor if you are going to miss a class or an assessment. 
  • Course instructors cannot currently ask students for documentation to support absences in academic courses. The regulation allowing this documentation to be requested has been suspended through to the end of the summer 2023 term.  Read the FAQ.  
  • Students have until April 12 to withdraw from (drop) their courses. The withdrawal will appear on your transcript as a W (not a grade) and will not impact your GPA. Students can submit a request to withdraw in their Student Centre. weblink 
  • Please contact your faculty advisors for additional information.

No. Isolation is no longer legally required in Alberta. AHS guidelines, however, recommend that people with symptoms of COVID-19 and people who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate at home for five days from the start of symptoms. Isolation is up to the student’s discretion.

No. AHS guidelines recommend wearing a mask indoors for five days following the start of symptoms. Mask wearing is at the student’s discretion.

  • Please take steps to protect yourself from illness as per AHS guidelines.  
  • It is important to remember to protect others' privacy by not sharing their health status without their consent. 

 

Academic Staff FAQ

  • Follow AHS guidelines. Inform your Academic Leader of your illness so that arrangements can be made to cover your classes.  
  • Please review HR’s sick leave policy page for more information on long-term sick leave.
  • Support sick students by letting them know what they need to do to keep up with course activities 
  • You cannot currently ask students for documentation to support absences in academic courses. The regulation allowing the request of this documentation is suspended through to the end of the summer 2023 term. Read the FAQ.

No. Isolation is no longer legally required in Alberta. AHS guidelines, however, recommend that people with symptoms of COVID-19 and people who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate at home for five days from the start of symptoms. Isolation is up to the student’s discretion.

No. However, AHS guidelines recommend wearing a mask indoors for five days following the start of symptoms. Mask wearing is at the student’s discretion.

Changing course modality is not normally done during the term to maintain learning continuity, and decisions to change modality are not solely at the discretion of the course instructor. If you have concerns, reach out to your academic leader to identify options for teaching and learning continuity. It is also important to remember to protect others' privacy by not sharing their health status without their consent. 

Students in Masks

Mask tips:

  • Before putting on the mask, wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or alcohol-based hand sanitizer with a minimum of 60 per cent alcohol.
  • Check the mask for damage; if damaged, discard.
  • Open mask fully to cover from nose to below the chin.
  • Place over nose, mouth and chin and secure to your head with ear loops.
  • Adjust if needed to make sure your nose, mouth and chin are fully covered.
  • Avoid touching the mask while wearing it; if you need to adjust your mask, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizer or soap and water before and after you touch it.
  • Keep your nose, mouth and chin covered at all times, until you are ready to remove the mask.

Mask FAQ

Updated on July 18, 2023, at 4:19 p.m.

Masks will no longer be required on UCalgary campuses, starting May 1, 2022.

Masks are still recommended

Masks are still strongly recommended for use on campus, and everyone should feel comfortable continuing to wear a mask.

While individuals are not permitted to create masking mandates, they may invite others to wear a mask when entering an enclosed research, work, study or teaching space. Continuing to respect and support people’s decision to wear a mask is strongly supported and encouraged.

The University of Calgary wholeheartedly embraces the value of vaccination in keeping you, your loved ones, and our broader community healthy. Everyone is urged to keep up with booster vaccinations as they become available, and follow recommended health guidelines. This combined with regular handwashing, physical distancing and keeping rooms well ventilated can together help limit virus transmission.

And as always, continuing to remain home when sick remains a key method to help keep the campus community safe.

We will be continuing to watch the public health situation closely and will keep you up to date on any further changes.

Masks are no longer mandatory in university vehicles

University will not be providing non-medical masks for staff and students on campus.

How to choose, use and care for a mask

Woman received her vaccine

Accessing vaccines on campus

Varsity Pharmacy in MacEwan Student Centre has vaccines available to staff, faculty, students and the general public. Book by calling Varsity Pharmacy at 403.282.0100.

Get Vaccinated

Vaccination FAQ

Updated on August 30, 2022, at 4:15 p.m.

Varsity Pharmacy in MacEwan Student Centre has vaccines available to staff, faculty, students and the general public. Book by calling Varsity Pharmacy at 403.282.0100.

Get Vaccinated

You can contact Alberta Health Services for more information.

As of June 14, 2022, isolation is recommended but is no longer a legislated requirement for individuals who have symptoms or test positive for covid-19.

Isolation when ill is still a University of Calgary requirement.

Employees and students who are sick must not come to campus and should complete the Alberta Health Services (AHS) COVID-19 Self-Assessment for Albertans, follow the direction of AHS and be tested (if testing is available).

Employees and students who are close contacts to others who are positive for COVID-19 may attend campus as long as they are not also unwell. 

Learn more here

Rapid Testing

The University of Calgary is no longer distributing Rapid Test Kits. Please visit the Government of Alberta's Rapid Testing website for information on where to get test kits

Download how to guide

Building Ventilation

The University of Calgary is committed to providing a safe learning and work environment. The Facilities team has been paying close attention to heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems (HVAC) and how to ensure their optimal operation in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Health Canada has established public health guidelines which the University of Calgary is applying to all of its buildings. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) have also established air-quality parameters for indoor (non-industrial) environments, with specific statements on infectious aerosols. These guidelines are used as best practices throughout the industry and used to direct our practices on UCalgary campuses.

We have increased the monitoring of our ventilation systems to ensure they are operating at peak efficiency. Wherever systems allow, the University of Calgary is also using higher efficiency MERV 13 filters to support the HVAC systems.
 

Our HVAC systems within all of our buildings cycle in fresh air from outside on a continuous basis throughout the day. This is important to help reduce the spread of infectious particles in the air. In addition to this, Facilities has programmed the systems to completely flush buildings with fresh air once per day, scheduled in the early morning before the start of classes. This is combined with the use of filters within air systems to reduce the concentration of infectious aerosols in our spaces.

Our Facilities team continues to monitor emerging best practices and guidelines and apply them on campus as the situation evolves. 

The University of Calgary is taking a holistic approach to COVID-19 conditions. Increased monitoring of our building ventilation systems, flushing buildings with fresh air once per day, the use of filters combined with individual mask use and vaccination will ensure our campus community is safe. 

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