Face Coverings

Dear Students and Colleagues:

As I walk through campus, I am pleased to see you wearing your face coverings and keeping your social distance while enjoying conversations with friends and colleagues. For all of the strength you have shown, and your compliance with measures we have put into place, I thank you. I am pleased to report that the reopening of campus is going well, but each of us must continue to be vigilant to keep COVID-19 rates low. We all must take an active role in prevention and mitigation efforts.

As we begin to move indoors in the days and weeks ahead, I wanted to provide you with a few reminders about things you can do that help protect yourself, your friends, your loved ones, and everyone at the University.

Face Coverings

Face coverings help to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. The basic rule for when you are on campus is: wear a face covering at all times unless you are able to maintain at least 6 feet of distance from other people.

• Indoors: Wear a face covering in all indoor public and shared spaces, including classrooms, meeting rooms, labs and study areas. If you are an employee who works in an open-plan office, you can remove your face covering when sitting at your desk and you are able to keep at least 6 feet apart from others.
• Outdoors: A face covering is suggested, but is only required outdoors when you cannot keep at least 6 feet away from other people.
• Materials: Face coverings should be made of multiple layers. Experts recommend that the covering be made of cloth that is tightly woven, but paper masks are acceptable as long as they have more than one layer. Do not use loosely-knit fabrics, like a T-shirt. Use an actual mask, not a neck gaiter or bandana. Studies have shown that they do not provide as much protection as a mask.  Face shields are not a substitute for masks.
• Accommodations: If you are not able to wear a face covering because of a disability, employees may request an accommodation through the Director of Employee Benefits and students may ask for one through the Disability Resource Center.

For all the details, see the “general safeguards” section of the Red Hawk Restart website.

Flu Shots

Help stop the spread of influenza this winter by getting your flu shot now. We will have four flu shot clinics on campus in the next few weeks. You can also get your vaccination from your healthcare provider or a local pharmacy. Please encourage your coworkers and family members to take this simple step to help protect all of us.

Ventilation

The Facilities team has added more information about ventilation in our buildings to their Restart FAQs, including details about filtration and the volume of outside air that is brought into our buildings, and the rate of air exchange. Please take a moment to learn about this important information.

For more information about our restart plan, please visit the Red Hawk Restart website, or send an email to reopen@montclair.edu. For more information about the health and wellness aspects of the coronavirus pandemic, please visit the COVID-19 resources website or send an email to coronavirus@montclair.edu.

Finally, please remember to do your Hawk Check 6-14 hours before coming to campus, and to stay home if you are not feeling well.

As always, I am here to be helpful to you in any way I can. I appreciate all that you do every day to keep our campus safe and healthy.  Thank you very much!

Sincerely,

Patricia Ruiz, DNP, APN
Director, University Health Center and EMS