Communicable Disease Plan

 

IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR FALL 2022

FAS IS OPERATING UNDER A COMMUNICABLE DISEASE PLAN 

Safety guidelines will be in place in FAS teaching, research, office and shared spaces.

Follow the SFU/ FAS Communicable Disease Plan (CDP) and complete the online safety training.

Complete a daily self-health check; remain home if you are sick and inform your instructor or supervisor.

Frequently clean shared equipment/ high touch surfaces. Practice good hand hygiene.

Masks are encouraged.

FAS Supplemental Information

General Protocols Across All Spaces

  • Masks continue to be encouraged. See “Masks” below
  • Complete the SFU Safety Orientation.
  • Conduct a daily health self-assessment (personal responsibility) and stay home when sick. See “What to do when sick” below.
  • Follow BC CDC guidance to self-manage cases and close contacts
  • Practice good hand hygiene
  • Disinfect high-touch areas

Masks

  • Masks continue to be encouraged
  • Some specific scenarios where masks are strongly encouraged:
    • If you’ve been sick continue wearing a mask for 5 or more days (days 6-10). You should not return to work until your symptoms are gone.
    • In lecture halls, teaching spaces, and high-density indoor spaces
    • When meeting indoors with large groups or people you don’t regularly interact with
    • At large social events, conferences and workshops on campus

Should you need a mask or face shield, please contact your supervisor.

What to do when sick

  • If you are experiencing flu/cold or COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home!
  • Staff must report the absence from work to their supervisors directly.
  • Students who are going to miss course work should submit an academic concession request or contact their instructor to discuss the missed work.
  • You can inform your close contacts, who should self-monitor for symptoms
  • Test yourself for COVID-19 with a rapid test
  • Most people can safely manage their symptoms at home. Call 8-1-1 to talk to a nurse if you have concerns, your symptoms worsen or if you do not improve after 5-6 days.
  • If you’ve tested positive for COVID-19
    • If fully vaccinated, stay home for at least 5 days after a positive test or until symptoms are gone.
    • If unvaccinated, stay at home for 10 days after a positive test or until symptoms are gone or your COVID-19 rapid test result is negative.
    • When you return to campus after being sick, please wear a mask for at least an additional 5 days (i.e. days 6-10) or your COVID-19 rapid test result is negative.

Vaccinations

Ventilation Assessment

The HVAC systems at SFU under go regular assessments to confirm they are operating and maintained in accordance with WorkSafeBC requirements and relevant ASHRAE Standards for indoor air quality.

In addition to ensuring ventilation systems are operating in accordance with ASHRAE Standards for indoor air quality, the following steps have been taken:

Ventilation Optimization: building air is being flushed daily to maximize outdoor airflow

Ventilation Hours: HVAC system operating hours have been requested to be extended to accommodate evening class times; systems will shut down after classes end

Upgraded Filters: where possible, MERV 13 filters have been installed

Ventilation Review: The Facilities HVAC review has been carried out for all spaces within FAS, where spaces have a regular occupancy over one. Facilities did not identify immediate concerns during the review. Regular HVAC maintenance will resume according to the normal facilities schedule in these spaces.  With the conclusion of the review, double/multiple occupancy may resume in shared offices and laboratory spaces. 

As the Facilities HVAC review did not extend to single occupancy offices, these offices should continue to have only one person working in them regularly. Occasional one-on-one meetings may be held in single offices, only if both individuals are fully masked. Windows should be opened for additional ventilation during meetings. Larger meetings should continue to be held in meeting rooms.

For more information on SFU Air Quality, please visit: www.sfu.ca/srs/work-research-safety/general-safety/indoor-air-quality/air-quality/COVID-19

Course and Classroom Guidelines

Instructors: please access the FAS Instructor Guide here.

Masks

Masks are encouraged in teaching spaces. 

Students: If you forget a mask, ask your instructor if they have extras. You can also obtain disposable masks from Student Central in Burnaby and at the information desks in Vancouver and Surrey.

Careful Social Interaction in Classrooms

As part of the SFU CDP, everyone is asked to practice careful social interaction on campus. This refers to limiting the number of close contacts that individuals interact with. The majority of in-person classroom and learning settings are not considered close contact environments. However, to further reduce contacts, Instructors may assign seats in classrooms that students must stick to for the entire semester, and assign lab/project groups for the entire semester.

Illness and Academic Concessions

Students are responsible for completing a daily self-health check prior to traveling to campus, to assess for COVID-19 symptoms. If a student has symptoms, it is their responsibility to get tested for COVID-19 if recommended by the BC CDC. Students who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (or are feeling ill) should not come to campus and should prioritize recovering from any illness. Please refer to the BC CDC website for more information on what to do when sick. 

The province has shifted to a self-management approach for COVID-19. Follow the BC CDC guidance on how to self-manage cases and close contacts.  

Students may miss course material (lectures, labs, tutorials – both in-person and online) from time to time due to illness. Instructors are encouraged to consider an alternative plan in advance to accommodate those students who will need to miss class. Students who are unable to complete assignments, labs, exams or other graded course components due to illness are required to submit a request for academic concession via this form.

Midterms and Exams

Courses that are being offered in-person are required to have in-person midterms and exams. Courses being offered remotely are required to have remote midterms and exams. If a student is unable to attend an in-person midterm/exam, please refer to the Academic Concessions section above. Students who require accessibility-related accommodation must contact the Centre for Accessible Learning and follow their procedures.

Office Hours

Office hours may be held remotely, or in-person by appointment. Contact your instructor for details about office hours for your course.

Ventilation

All teaching spaces within the Faculty of Applied Sciences and the lecture theatres where Applied Sciences courses are scheduled have been assessed and are operating in accordance with WorkSafeBC requirements and relevant ASHRAE Standards for indoor air quality. 

Instructor Guidelines

Please visit this webpage to access instructor guidelines for the current and upcoming semesters.

If you require an accomodation on medical or other protected grounds, please follow the instructions on the Workplace Accomodation Page.

Illness and Academic Concessions

Students are responsible for completing a daily self-health check prior to traveling to campus, to assess for COVID-19 symptoms. If a student has symptoms, it is their responsibility to get tested for COVID-19. Students who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (or are feeling ill) should not come to campus and should prioritize recovering from any illness. This means that course material (lectures, labs, tutorials – both in-person and online) may be missed from time to time. Instructors are encouraged to consider an alternative plan in advance to accommodate those students who will need to miss class. Students who are unable to complete assignments, labs, exams or other graded course components due to illness are required to submit a request for academic concession via this form.

Guidelines for instructors can be found in the FAS Instructor Guide.

 

Additional Resources

Find additional information on these websites to help you plan your return to campus: