Campus guidance updates effective May 26

Note that UNMC is a health care institution and that CDC guidance aimed at the public is not health care guidance. Decisions to loosen restrictions further will remain scientifically based, data-driven and dependent on conditions on our campuses, in our clinical facilities and in our communities. With the exception of the measures instituted above, existing guidance pertaining to face-coverings, social distancing, 1-Check screening and other COVID control measures remains in effect. Receipt of a complete series of COVID vaccine does not currently absolve individuals of the obligation to adhere to these safety measures.

Note, too, that this loosening of restrictions does not apply to the Child Care Center, to which separate CDC guidelines apply.

Classes (Revised)

Classes usually taught in-person but held remotely in 2020 and Spring 2021 are expected to return to the in-person mode, with certain possible restrictions, during the Summer and Fall 2021 semesters. Faculty members should work closely with their college’s appropriate administrative contact to ensure that an appropriate space is available and properly prepared. Faculty and students are cautioned against reconfiguring classroom spaces on their own.

Faculty desiring to hold in-person classes involving more than 50 individuals should coordinate with the Office of Health Security.

Return to Work

Guidance relevant to the return of personnel to on-campus work is available on the COVID-19 website.

Research (Revised)

Masks will continue to be required for all visiting/rotating students, as described below, and all non-fully vaccinated faculty, staff and students in research shared spaces other than offices or small conference rooms. All laboratories, including small instrument rooms, tissue culture rooms, cores and comparative medicine spaces, are considered shared spaces. Groups meeting in a conference room or office may unmask if they are all vaccinated, the door is closed and they choose to do so. Individuals eating in spaces designated for eating may also unmask but should remain distanced from others who may be eating nearby with unknown vaccination status.

UNMC-sponsored undergraduate student summer research programs (such as INBRE, SURP and STEP-UP) are allowed to have on-campus activities this summer if they adhere to the guidelines provided to their program leaders, which include masking within all research buildings and restriction from clinical areas, unless provided a specific exception, and/or offices of faculty mentors close to clinical areas. No high school or undergraduate research volunteers (beyond those in designated programs) are allowed on campus, although student employees are permitted. Large group meetings should continue to use distance technologies in most cases or should mask unless all are known to be vaccinated. Moreover, students are barred from any clinical shadowing experiences in these areas unless pre-approved. Badges provided to summer undergraduate students will allow access from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; at other times, students will need to be escorted into locked buildings. Orientation to current policies, social distancing practices, daily monitoring of the student’s health status and the reporting of COVID cases, is the responsibility of each individual mentor.

Travel (Revised)

• For business travel within the U.S., travel still needs to be approved in advance by the responsible dean or director. Such travel should be carefully considered and should be limited to that which is essential. Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to contract and spread SARS-CoV-2 and may now travel at low risk to themselves within the United States. While new CDC guidance allows mask-free gatherings in many settings, all travelers, including those who are fully vaccinated are still required to wear a mask on all planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.
  
• International travel is strongly discouraged, and is permitted only if: a) it is mission-critical; b) it has the approval of the relevant Vice Chancellor or Senior Vice Chancellor and; c) it is consistent with federal travel restrictions. Compliance with these guidelines and restrictions, as well as with University of Nebraska Executive Memorandum 25, is the responsibility of the individual traveler. Travelers may be required to demonstrate (by negative testing) that they are not infectious prior to boarding aircraft for their return journey. They may also be subject to quarantine upon return. Personal international travel continues to be strongly discouraged and is subject to CDC and US State Department restrictions.
  
• Study abroad programs remain prohibited.

Parking

All students, faculty, UNMC and Nebraska Medicine employees on campus are now expected to park in their designated/assigned parking lots. Employees returning to work on campus who have been working off site will be eligible for reinstatement to their previous parking assignment, subject to availability. Such reinstatement must be applied for within 30 days after a return to campus or the space may be forfeited.

Gatherings (Revised)

• The limit imposed upon on-campus gatherings of our own faculty, staff, and students is increased to 50 individuals. Exceptions to this limit can be sought by filing an event safety plan. Fully vaccinated participants in such gatherings are no longer required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing. University-sponsored events involving a mixture of UNMC personnel and invited guests are subject to an analogous limit (aside from official events).
  
• Non-UNMC-sponsored on-campus gatherings involving outside groups (example: weddings) require the approval from the Office of Health Security, as well as an accompanying event safety plan.
  
• UNMC-sponsored on-campus gatherings that involve outsiders will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis following the submission of an event safety plan.

Accommodations (Revised)

Requests from faculty and staff for accommodations related to COVID-19 will be handled through the University’s existing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations process. Please contact the UNMC HR Employee Relations office if you have a COVID-19 workplace accommodation question or request. More information about this process can be found at the UNMC ADA Request for Accommodations webpage. Enrolled students with disabilities that qualify for accommodation under Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) can find additional information regarding Services for Students with Disabilities online. Please contact Jen Papproth in the Accessibility Services Center by email at jepapproth@unmc.edu with questions.

Recreation (Revised)

In addition to existing recreational opportunities available through the Center for Healthy Living on the Omaha campus, the following are permitted effective May 26:

• Gymnasium pickup games of 5 on 5 basketball, 5 X 5 futsal, and 6 X 6 volleyball, as well as other activities at the discretion of CFHL staff. Masks are no longer required for participation by fully vaccinated individuals. Participants, as well as spectators, who are not yet fully vaccinated should continue to mask or should decline to participate.
  
• Intramural summer outdoor sports of golf, pickleball, soccer, softball, bocce ball and cornhole.
  CFHL’s equipment may be checked out at the front desk and returned for disinfection before the next usage.
  
• Similar activities are permitted on campuses outside of Omaha as long as they are not prohibited by host institutions (UNL, UNK, WNCC, NECC).
  
• Fully immunized member guests are permitted to utilize campus recreational facilities effective May 26.

Recreational opportunities continue to be re-evaluated on an ongoing basis. We will endeavor to increase these opportunities while continuing to follow CDC guidance. See up-to-date information on recreational opportunities on the Omaha campus. For information relevant to other campuses, please contact the appropriate recreational entities.