New COVID-19 information
With the fall term now underway, the University continues to take active measures to keep our community members safe and informed.
Our decision to schedule the majority of academic programming using primarily online/remote learning, with select in-person instruction, was made after consulting with the government and public health authorities and considering our guiding principles. Where necessary, limited in-person teaching is being offered with appropriate safety measures in place. With more activity now occurring on campus, such as some in-person courses, research activity, and students in residence, we want to keep our community up-to-date and informed about any reported positive COVID-19 cases of individuals who have recently been on campus. We have added a new page to our Better Together website that will provide this information.
York has planned carefully for a variety of possible scenarios and we are utilizing our Incident Management Protocol to isolate and contain all situations that arise for those who come onto our campuses and for those who live on campus.
In any scenario of positive COVID-19 diagnoses reported to the University, we liaise closely with Toronto Public Health and follow their guidance and provide all necessary information to assist their efforts with contact tracing.
Toronto Public Health also assesses if there is a community risk of transmission, and the University adheres to all direction provided to mitigate any identified risk.
We want to remind the York community of the importance of the safety protocols we have in place for those permitted to be on campus:
- Anyone approved to return to campus must complete the COVID-19 Screening Checklist each time they attend York.
- The wearing of non-medical mouth and nose coverings is mandatory at York University, in shared spaces and within buildings. If you are symptomatic, you should contact Toronto Public Health, Telehealth Ontario, or your doctor, for advice as soon as possible.
- If you become ill and live in residence, go immediately to your room to self-isolate, contact reslife@yorku.ca, your Don or Community Assistant on duty to report your symptoms. Residents are provided immediate direction and support.
- If you’re a student experiencing anxiety or stress, please reach out to Student Counselling & Development at 416-736-5297 or visit the website https://counselling.students.yorku.ca/ to learn about remote access of services.
- For faculty and staff in need of support, please call the Employee and Family Assistance Program toll-free 24 hours a day, seven days a week for immediate, confidential help at 1-800-268-5211; TTY Service is available at 1-800-363-6270.
- As always, individuals who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or feeling ill in general are requested to not attend our campuses.
York will continue to be guided by public health and government guidelines.
For the most current information, we encourage community members to visit the Better Together website on a regular basis.
Resources:
- COVID-19 Protocol for Self Disclosure, Screening, and Incident Management
- Health and Safety Guidelines for Returning to Campus during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- COVID-19 Screening Checklist
- Hand Sanitizing / La désinfection des mains
- What you need to know to help you and your family stay healthy / Ce qu’il faut savoir pour rester en santé avec sa famille
- How to self-isolate / Comment s’auto-isoler
- How to self-monitor / Comment s’autosurveiller
- Canada's COVID Alert app available for download
The Government of Canada has launched a new COVID Alert app with a goal to limit the spread of COVID-19 and prevent future outbreaks. We encourage community members to take advantage of this app. For more information, please visit the Government of Canada website.
Sincerely,
Rhonda L. Lenton
President and Vice-Chancellor