Texas A&M University is asking all faculty and staff to work from home this week.
According to a university news release, this is in hopes of reducing exposure to COVID-19 and the flu.
Personnel whose duties are “essential to being performed onsite” can go to work.
News release from Texas A&M University:
To faculty and staff,
Positive COVID-19 and flu cases are spreading rapidly across Texas and hospitalizations are on the rise, signaling that pandemic conditions are worsening once again.
In hopes of reducing exposure to these highly contagious viruses, Texas A&M University is asking all faculty and staff to work from home for the first week of January (Jan. 3-7), except for personnel whose duties are essential to being performed onsite. Talk to your supervisor if you’re unsure about whether you should return to the office/workplace tomorrow, Jan. 3, or if you should work remotely.
For those enrolled in mini-mester classes that begin this week, please contact your instructor about arrangements.
While none of the steps below are mandated, you are strongly encouraged to please do your part by following these recommendations:
- Get fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This includes the booster shot; check here for on-campus locations and here for off campus sites, including CVS and Walgreens. For those not in Bryan-College Station, please check your respective websites for COVID-related information.
- Get tested before returning to campus. Free testing is widely available across the main campus and off campus.
- Get the flu shot.
- Wear a well-fitted mask or face covering indoors, regardless of your vaccination status. Do’s and don’ts of mask-wearing are outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Don’t come to work if you’re sick.
- Self-reporting a positive case of COVID-19 is required by the university through https://redcap.tamhsc.edu/surveys/?s=N38DRD4EMK. This act of selfless service will help the university to understand and control the virus on campus.
- The self-reporting portal for Galveston is different from the main campus and can be found on this site.
Need to know:
- New protocols recently outlined by the CDC specify the shortened recommended isolation and quarantine period after testing positive or having a close contact with someone who has the virus.
- Epidemiologists have warned that the newest COVID-19 variant, called omicron, is likely more contagious than the original strain, SARS-CoV-2.
- Even if a person is vaccinated, they still can contract the virus, but their symptoms are expected to be considerably milder.
- It’s fine to get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines on the same day.
Please regularly check Texas A&M’s COVID-19 guidance page for updates.
Greg Hartman
Chief Operating Officer & Senior Vice President
Texas A&M University