Office of the Provost

COVID Safety Updates/Reminders for Spring 2021

February 18, 2021

Dear Staff and Faculty,

As the spring semester gets underway, we want to remind you of our campus COVID-19 health and safety protocols and provide updates about some important changes that have been made since our initial training was offered in Fall 2020. All of these updates can be found in the February 2021 version of the Scaling Up Guide and Policy for Faculty and Staff. All faculty and staff are expected to fully comply and model compliance with the protocols outlined in this Guide, as part of Brandeis’ workplace expectations.

Keeping the Brandeis campus and community safe and limiting the spread of the COVID-19 is a shared responsibility and a continued priority in 2021. As members of the Brandeis community, working together to protect our students, colleagues, and community will continue to foster social solidarity and contribute significantly toward reducing COVID-19 cases.

For supervisors, managers, chairs and deans, we ask that you emphasize the importance of these protocols with your faculty and staff. Remember, we are relying on you to ensure that your staff are in compliance with the required health and safety protocols. Managers who have not yet requested a report of compliance for your employees may do so by emailing c19testing-group@brandeis.edu.

Faculty and staff who observe others not following the University’s policies or have specific health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, should immediately notify their department chair, Dean, manager or supervisor. Concerns may also be reported confidentially using EthicsPoint (the Brandeis anonymous reporting tool).

For questions on any of the health and safety provisions listed, please reach out to the appropriate resources shown in the contact section below.

For All Faculty and Staff

UPDATED COVID-19 Protocols and Procedures

In addition to the primary health and safety behaviors of masking, distancing, and handwashing, below are some of the updated safety protocols and measures that have been implemented. Please visit the Brandeis COVID-19 Response website for guidance, resources, and complete information.

Campus Passport: The Brandeis Campus Passport provided a personalized view of your readiness to come to campus, based upon your completion of the training, Daily Health Assessment, and testing requirements.

Details of the Passport colors and readiness can be found on the COVID-19 website. Brandeis community members will be required to show their Passport to access many campus locations including testing sites, Gosman, the Library, and dining halls. Faculty and Staff may not come to campus and access university facilities, however briefly, without a green, yellow, orange or blue Passport. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Testing: Testing is now unobserved. Frequency of testing is now based on the amount of time that has passed since the last sample was submitted at a testing site. Please visit Testing and Tracing for more details.

Quarantine: Brandeis is utilizing a slightly more conservative quarantine procedure than the state of Massachusetts and the CDC. If Brandeis community members are identified as close contacts of someone who tests positive for COVID-19, they must quarantine for a minimum of 10 days from their last day of exposure to the case. Please review the updated quarantine requirements.

Gathering Restrictions, Space and Occupancy Limits: Gathering size is currently limited to a maximum of 10 people indoors; 6 people in residence hall rooms. Organized events coordinated through University Events are limited to a maximum of 25 outdoors. Gatherings in off-campus residences are also limited to 10 people (who are not members of the same household).

Guests and Visitors: Brandeis is strictly limiting visitors on campus. Please review the Guest and Visitor Policy.

Travel: Until further notice, university-sponsored travel is prohibited without written permission from the Provost. Those traveling on personal business must strictly adhere to the MA State Travel Order.

Support Resources: Maintaining our physical and emotional health and wellbeing during these challenging times is important. Visit Support Resources, EAP Resources or Tufts COVID-19 Resources for a detailed directory of resources and information for employees and their families.

For Managers

Managers have an important role in helping to communicate and enforce COVID-19 health and safety requirements as well as managing the work/life needs of their faculty and staff. Please review and follow each of the protocols below.

• Communicate regularly with all faculty and staff to foster unity, to reinforce health and safety information, and clarify department specific requirements.

• Provide continued support to faculty and staff on workplace and work/life balance flexibility, specifically childcare and eldercare needs. Direct faculty and staff to resources such as Tufts COVID-19 Resources, EAP Resources and other Support Resources.

• Ensure that all new faculty and staff have completed the Online COVID-19 Safety Training even if they are not currently working on the campus.

• New managers, or managers who have taken the training and wish to refresh their knowledge, should complete the Managing Staff During COVID-19 Training.

• Take advantage of and encourage your staff and faculty to enroll in Workshops provided by the Office of Human Resources.

Contact Information

Thank you for your continued efforts to keep our campus and community safe and operational.

Best Wishes,

Carol Fierke, Provost
Stewart Uretsky, Executive Vice President
Brandeis University