COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES – COVID-19 CHECKLIST
This information was released by the Ohio Department of Health on April 3, 2020 as a guideline for colleges and universities. For updates and specific guidelines for colleges and universities in your area, please visit the institution’s website.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a serious issue in Ohio, the Ohio Department of Health strongly recommends that all colleges and universities immediately take the following actions:
• Offer e-learning plans and distance learning options to continue education of students during the Stay at Home order. Encourage faculty and staff to work from home. Use existing infrastructure and services (e.g., Blackboard, Skype, Zoom) to support distance-based formats for faculty check-ins, recorded class meetings or lectures, and live class meetings.
• Offer other student support services such as online library services, print materials available online, phone- or Internet-based counseling support, or study groups enabled through digital media.
• Postpone, limit, or adapt research-related activities (e.g., study recruitment or participation, access to labs) to protect the safety of researchers, participants, facilities, and equipment.
• Cancel or postpone all group events, including commencements; hold meetings remotely; close fitness centers and other non-essential services.
• Consider how to prioritize technical issues and how to handle potential lack of students’ access to computers and the Internet at home or in temporary housing.
• Medically screen students returning to school from international travel or cruises, including, but not limited to,students returning from spring break travel.
• Cancel or postpone any university-sponsored international or non-essential travel for students and faculty.
• Encourage students who can to move out of campus housing and to their permanent residences. Ensure that students who cannot safely go to permanent residences have adequate living arrangements.
• Ramp up disinfection of offices, labs, studios, dorms, other residences, and common areas. Encourage the use of infection control methods through signage and other communications. Provide soap and water, hand sanitizer, and wipes for students and staff to use in common areas.
• Establish carry-out and delivery for food services and distribute in non-congregate ways. Encourage students who are sick to use delivery. Use enhanced disinfecting procedures in food-preparation and pick-up areas and encourage social distancing by using signage, floor tape or other means to keep 6-feet between all workers and students.
• Review supplies across all programs to determine whether any personal protective equipment (facemasks, gloves, gowns, shoe coverings, etc.) might be available to contribute to the state stockpile for healthcare workers. If you have resources to donate, contact together@governor.ohio.gov or your local Emergency Management Agency.
• Work with regional collaboratives to ensure campus healthcare services have needed supplies and are prepared to care for sick students.
• Engage campus EMA/EMS/campus police to establish an incident command system structure in case it is needed.
For answers to your COVID-19 questions, call 1-833-4ASKODH (1-833-427-5634
Access helpful COVID-19 Checklists by visiting: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/responsible-restart-ohio/COVID-19-Checklists/