What are USyd’s policies for local COVID-19 transmission?
Jocelin Chan
(Last updated: 12/3/20)
Within the last week, global news on COVID-19 has been particularly grim. Even as the rate of infection began slowing down in China where this all began, Italy announced a nationwide lockdown, several universities in the US have shut down, and WHO finally declared the outbreak a pandemic. In Sydney alone, an outbreak has sprung out of the northwest and three schools were closed after students tested positive to the disease.
In light of these alarming developments, it seems like it will only be a matter of time before cases are discovered at university, so it’s worth asking: what plans and advice for staff and students does the University of Sydney have in the event that local transmission becomes a serious problem? What arrangements are available for students with chronic health issues, who would want to avoid large gatherings? What arrangements are there for students who come into contact with a confirmed case and have to go into self-isolation? What will happen if the university is shut down? I took it upon myself to investigate their policies on COVID-19.
USyd has a webpage (updated 11 Mar 2020) on advice regarding COVID-19. However, the advice prioritises information for Mainland Chinese international students affected by the travel ban, with some advice for students whose overseas exchange plans have been cancelled because of outbreaks overseas. Even advice on self-isolation is geared towards international students, despite cases of local transmission already forcing Sydneysiders to stay at home for fourteen days. As for health advice for students already on campus, the website has this to say: “the University is prepared to respond as necessary.” Despite improving the online learning systems for students stuck in China, the university still expects students—even if they are in the high-risk category, it seems—to attend class physically. Those who must self-isolate will not need to provide a medical certificate, although there is no advice on what they should produce to justify their absence. The webpage also advises students and staff who are showing symptoms to “talk with your lecturer or manager and make alternative arrangements”.
I looked up a couple of other universities’ websites to compare. UNSW’s webpage on COVID-19 is quite similar, although it has an additional page of advice for people who feel unwell or need to self-isolate. UTS’s website is much more comprehensive, bearing an up-to-date list on who needs to self-isolate, offering work-from-home arrangements for staff (not students) with underlying health conditions, and a self-check symptoms guide.
Still, nothing on the universities’ websites discusses arrangements for students with chronic health issues who will be the worst affected by COVID-19. Moreover, given that 42 countries* worldwide have closed schools either nationally or locally, it’s surprising to see that USyd has not publicised a plan about what to do if schools in New South Wales are shut down. Will the semester be suspended? Will lessons be moved online? If the latter, how can the university equip staff to move their content online and guarantee secure home Internet connections for students to access content?
With a head still full of questions, I phoned up the university’s COVID-19 hotline. As I discovered, there is currently no policy from the university about what people with underlying health conditions who are reluctant to come onto campus should do. The advice they offered me was to contact the course coordinator directly and figure out what to do about attendance and access to learning materials online. HDR (Higher Degree Research) students are also advised to speak with their supervisors or call the HDR Administration Centre.
Moreover, the hotline stated that the university was conferring with the NSW Health Department and updating its policies accordingly. At the moment, there is no expectation for courses to change or go online and any arrangements have to be made at the discretion of the individual course coordinator.
This wasn’t necessarily comforting to hear. For one, it seems reckless to not have some plan about what to do in the event of a university shutdown—and if there is a plan, it is also reckless not to share it publicly. The expectation for individual course coordinators to make arrangements with each student who has concerns also puts much of the onus on the staff to plan what to do, without guidance from the university. USyd’s advice on COVID-19 for those already on campus is sorely lacking during this pandemic and for all of our sakes, I hope it adopts a more proactive stance in protecting students and staff on campus.
*The figure that WHO gives is 39 at the omission of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau (13 Mar 2020).