• Campus guidance is derived from CDC information and advice from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. This is an evolving epidemic involving a novel virus. Expect information to change, and so remain flexible with planning.
• Preventive measures: This week, alcohol-based washes are being placed in all building lobbies and in key areas including student residential housing. Signage will also be used to remind the campus community of the importance of good respiratory hygiene and hand washing. A communication has been sent to students' parents concerning developing plans. Faculty can and should serve as role models in the area of preventive measures.
• H1N1 vaccine. This non-mandatory vaccine will be available during specially held vaccine clinics on the University City Main Campus, at the Center City Hahnemann Campus and the Queen Lane Medical Campus in October. Information concerning what is expected to be one injection for H1N1 is forthcoming. Drexel will be providing vaccine to all students, staff and faculty who meet eligibility criteria. Eligibility criteria include all people under 24 years of age, those 25-64 years of age with underlying chronic conditions, pregnant women and perhaps others depending on any revised guidelines that are received.
• Protocol for the Ill : Faculty, staff and students with Influenza-Like-Illness (ILI) must self-isolate. That means that staff and faculty with ILI should stay home for the course of the illness and not return until there have been no symptoms of disease or fever for 24 hours. Students will also be told to self-isolate. Those students who can self-isolate at home should do so. For those students who remain in residential halls, specific plans for isolation, meals and support services are in place. Resident Advisors and a cadre of other key Student Life staff are involved in planning.
Consistent with CDC guidance, those suffering from ILI may not request a note from a health care provider for return to class or work. The CDC does not want a flood of ill people in health care providers' offices unless their condition is such that they require medical attention. Therefore, instructors must rely on the word of students concerning ILI illness at this time.
• Planning for the impact of illness: Class absenteeism is expected to increase, and faculty should review the Absence from Class policy at http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policyweb/absence.html. Faculty may consider enhancing online materials and increasing student online participation using the Blackboard Vista Web site specific to each course should a high number of absences occur, so that reasonable course continuity can be maintained. A website will be available in the future with tips on using Blackboard Vista to maintain course continuity and communication; this may be a useful resource for other unexpected class cancellations in the future.
Colleges, schools and departments should set up contingencies for possible absences of instructors. An instructor who becomes ill must self-isolate, stay at home and notify his/her department upon the onset of symptoms. Each college or school will develop a plan with its departments for arranging substitutes or canceling classes. The department is responsible to notify students of class cancellations by e-mail and by placing appropriate signage specifying the course, section, and date of cancellation at the classroom. Note that instructors can contact students directly through Blackboard Vista in the event of a cancelled class.
Further contingencies may be considered in the event that the H1N1 cases increase on campus.
Remember, preventive measures and attention to protocol are designed to keep disease from spreading as well as enable campus operations to continue. Attention to details will contribute to campus health and wellness. Thank you for your continued attention to this important health issue.
