Message to Staff from the Principal - Friday 6 March 2020
Dear colleague,
At the end of another week of extensive coronavirus coverage I wanted to reassure you - once again - that the University is taking its preparedness for Covid-19 extremely seriously and doing all that it can to safeguard our community.
The University’s Coronavirus Steering Group continues to meet daily, its smaller sub-groups gather frequently and are tackling a wide range of staff and student queries. Extensive planning for a range of possible scenarios is also underway.
Advice from the national agencies still guides our approach and while the situation is ever evolving, our position - at this stage - remains that the University should carry on its normal activities as far as possible.
As we are heeding national guidance, I would ask you not to take unilateral decisions regarding postponing or cancelling activities within your School or section because of Covid-19. Please instead direct questions or concerns around activity to the Steering Group via coronavirus@abdn.ac.uk.
Of course, our planning must cover all potential scenarios, which is why we also need to look at what would need to happen if teaching on our Aberdeen campus was delivered in a different format or there was reduced activity on our Aberdeen campus – should the national guidance change. Communications for students and staff on our Qatar campus will follow separately as and when required.
IF this were to happen - and I must stress we are not currently at that stage - all steps would be put in place to ensure minimum disruption for our students, academic progression and completion of study.
In order to facilitate internal and remote communication for our staff, the University last night also issued Microsoft Teams* to all staff. A shortcut to Teams will appear on your desktop.
While we are not at the remote working point, naturally staff have questions around the virus on a range of issues, many health related. Advice is being sent to managers, and more details will shortly also appear in our FAQs.
We are also reprioritising and refocusing our cleaning efforts across campus with extra attention being given to touchpoints including handrails, lift buttons and door handles.
I would also remind you of the public health guidelines to prevent and slow the spread of Covid-19:
- wash your hands with soap and water often – for at least 20 seconds
- always wash your hands when you get home or into work and before eating
- use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve - not your hands - when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards
Do keep an eye on our Coronavirus pages as our latest updates and advice are being posted there and a reminder again that questions should be sent to coronavirus@abdn.ac.uk.
Best wishes
Karl
Professor Karl Leydecker
Chair of the Coronavirus Steering Group
Senior Vice-Principal
*Teams enables collaboration - allowing chats, online meetings and team work. You’ll find guidance on how to use Teams in the University Toolkit’s MS Teams resource. Please contact the Service Desk if you experience any problems servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk.
As with any University IT system, communications and information in Teams are official records, and you should follow the University’s IT Conditions of Use at all times.