Memorial University

Access to Memorial’s campuses is restricted until further notice in response to the provincial public health declaration of a level 5 COVID alert level.

Keeping campus density at a minimum helps to protect those who have to be on campus to deliver remote teaching, feed or care for animals used in research, service critical research equipment, maintain building operations and deliver key administrative functions that cannot be handled remotely. Please do not access campus facilities unless you have been identified to do so to deliver critical services or you have been approved to retrieve essential items.

Only faculty, staff or student employees/researchers who meet at least one of the following criteria will be permitted access to campus:

1. Critical services delivery
2. Critical teaching or administration continuity activities
3. Research continuity activities – level 5 access request must be approved by the COVID-19 Research Working Group, or for Grenfell Campus, approved by a dean, the AVP (research) and VP (Grenfell Campus)
4. Approved workplace accommodations – must be approved by the Department of Human Resources
5. Pick up essential equipment/documents (one-time visit, maximum 30 minutes) – see more information below.

An employee who meets one of the above criteria and requires access to a building must request approval from their supervisor or other noted authority (dean, department head, division head (Grenfell Campus); school head and administrative manager (Marine Institute)). If you are unsure if your request qualifies, you should discuss it with your supervisor.

Once approval is received, the employee must complete the Access to Campus Form. This form must be completed each day that the employee requires access. Marine Institute employees should continue to complete the MI Building Access Request Form for access requests. Members of the Grenfell Campus community should refer to the Messenger notice issued earlier today, Feb. 14, related to campus access. Staff performing critical services who are continuing to work on campus are exempt from completing this form (for example, employees with Facilities Management and Campus Enforcement and Patrol (CEP)).

Supervisor responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the supervisor (deans or department heads at Grenfell Campus) to manage the scheduling of access requests for their employees and ensure density requirements are followed. Please review to ensure that only necessary requests are approved, based on the above criteria. Supervisors should also continue to track the equipment and documents that employees have at home.

Picking up essential equipment/documents

To help control density, employees on the St. John’s campus will have the opportunity to pick up essential items from Feb 15-19 on the schedule. Essential items may include technology, equipment, files, ergonomic supports and/or essential personal items. Any equipment/documents removed from campus must be logged with your supervisor. Please note that Facilities Management is not able to assist with delivering items to people’s homes at this time.  Access dates and times will be approved individually for the Marine Institute and Grenfell Campus.

Accessing campus during one of the times below requires supervisory approval and the completion of the Access to Campus Form. Please limit your time on campus to a maximum of 30 minutes.

Schedule for St. John’s campus

• Monday, Feb. 15, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., research units
• Tuesday, Feb. 16, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., academic units; 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. administration units
• Wednesday, Feb. 17, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., research units
• Thursday, Feb. 18, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., administration units
• Friday, Feb. 19, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., academic units

Facilities-related reminders

If accessing campuses under approved criteria outlined above, employees are reminded that:

• Exterior doors, pedways and tunnels are locked.
• Only washrooms with cleaning logs displayed outside are open for use. Consider all other washrooms out of service. If washrooms are out of service in areas where employees are reporting to work on the St. John’s campus, please contact work control at 864-7600 or facman@mun.ca to request the space be returned to rotation for cleaning service. Limited washrooms are available at Grenfell Campus. Those that are closed are marked with caution tape.
• To maintain low campus density for all employees, cleaning and servicing of spaces throughout campus may be reduced to designated workspaces for critical employees.
• Do not leave perishable garbage in buildings. No food should be left in fridges at the end of shifts.
• While on campus employees should adhere to public health requirements and take necessary precautions including observing posted signage, physical distancing, wearing a mask, hand washing and staying home when sick. The density calculatoris currently using a calculation of 225 square feet per person to determine the maximum capacity of on-campus spaces.
• For access requests concerning research needs, please review the latest update from the Office of the Vice-President (Research). Grenfell researchers should to consult with the updated Grenfell COVID-19 website.
• Memorial is encouraging the use of tools to allow for remote teaching and learning when possible. Please consult with CITL for direction. However, to ensure the continuity of teaching and learning, lecture capture classrooms will remain open. If you use a lecture capture classroom, please follow posted cleaning protocols using products provided to disinfect when entering and before leaving the classroom. For lecture capture at Grenfell contact ITS.

Masks

As noted in yesterday’s update, a two-ply face mask is the minimum standard while three-ply is recommended and will be worn by staff performing critical operations on campus.

During this alert level, three-ply masks will be supplied to those required to work on campus. On the St. John’s campus, three-ply masks are available from CEP. At Grenfell Campus, three-ply masks will be distributed to custodial, maintenance and CEP staff. There will be a box available in the atrium by the elevator for others who require one. At Marine Institute, three-ply masks are available from Facilities and Technical Services.

Note that face shields do not replace a mask, masks with exhalation valves should not be worn and neck gaiters, scarves and bandanas are not acceptable.  Further information can be found here. Anyone who cannot wear a mask due to medical reasons should not come to campus and should contact your supervisor.