Campus Advisory for COVID-19 (May 21, 2020)

May 21, 2020

To Students, Faculty and Staff Members:

Risk Management Headquarters
(for COVID-19 Infection Control)
University of the Ryukyus

We, at the University of the Ryukyus, have issued “Warning for New Coronavirus Infection” 10 times to call your attention, considering the situation of the COVID-19 infection inside and outside of Okinawa Prefecture.

In Okinawa, the situation is getting better. The state of emergency was lifted on May 14. The temporary closure request for the seven types of facilities/industries was removed on May 20. However, we take the medium-and long-term points of view and keep our effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection, considering the possibility of another breakout.

This time, we decided to issue “Campus Advisory for COVID-19” concerning guidelines from Japanese Government and with consideration to the current situation inside and outside of Okinawa, instead of information we have been sending entitled “Warning for New Coronavirus Infection”. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation to the ongoing effort to prevent the spread of infection.

If we observe the signs of outbreaks again in the future, we might have to change measures. Please keep in mind that we are going to inform you again, including the contents of the warnings.

1. Health observation

Please observe your health conditions by taking body temperature daily. Please ask your family members who live with you to cooperate and to observe their health conditions as well.
You can download “Health Diary” app or “Health Check Sheet” from the following website: University of the Ryukyus Academic Information System

We strongly request students, faculty and staff members who have a fever or any symptoms of a cold to follow ① and ②. Also, please contact public health center and the University following the “Health Observation Flowchart” attached.
① Rest at home
② Refrain from going out

2. Hygiene management and physical distancing (social distancing)

Please take measures for hygiene management and prevention from infection, such as washing hands frequently with soap, practicing cough etiquette, and wearing a face mask, and carrying your own towel. Please maintain 2-meter (1 meter at least) distance between yourself and other people.
Please wear a face mask on campus (except when it is allowed not to for physical educations, etc.).

3. Avoiding three Cs and ventilation

Please refrain from going to places where three Cs (1. Closed Space with poor ventilation, 2. Crowded Places with many people nearby and 3. Close-Contact Settings such as close-range conversations) overlap, such as joining events with lots of people and dining with a number of people in closed space.

Please ventilate the space at all times if the weather allows. If possible, open two-way windows for air circulation. (Please note that it is necessary to ventilate even when you are using an air conditioner.)

4. Travelling (Business trips)

For the time being, please refrain from going to other prefectures or coming back from other prefectures as well as going to remote islands and moving between remote islands unless it is emergency.

If travelling (business trip) is unavoidable, please a keep record of the route you have taken, whom you have met and where the meetings have taken place. Please keep a record of your health conditions for two weeks after returning (coming) from outside of Okinawa by using “Health Diary” app or “Health Check Sheet” mentioned in “1. Health observation” and observe any changes in your health conditions.

Faculty and staff members need to obtain permission from the President for travelling to areas under the state of emergency (including airport and station you use for a stopover). We may ask you to obtain permission to travel to other areas if we observe the signs of the spread of infection inside and outside of Okinawa.

5. Traveling abroad

As a general rule, it is prohibited to travel to countries and regions classified as “Level 2: Avoid non-essential travel” in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Travel Advice and Warning on Infectious Diseases.

Please note that you have to comply with the request of 14-day self-quarantine if you are returning from "quarantine strengthening target areas" as prevention measures.

For those who returned from abroad, such as after studying abroad, you must contact the office of your Faculty/Graduate School and follow the instructions. (Please refer to the attached “Flowchart for Returnees and Visitors”).

Please consult with your Faculty/ Graduate School if you have any concerns regarding the continuation of your study or work due to the government’s policy on returnees and visitors from abroad (above mentioned quarantine request, etc.) and above mentioned measures.

6. Accepting foreign researchers

When accepting foreign researchers, please decide after careful consideration with the evaluation of various information such as information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Travel Advice and Warning on Infectious Diseases. Depending on research areas, receiving supervision online and implementing joint research are possible. Please consider alternative methods as well.

7. Authorized absence for students

If a student is infected or suspected to be infected to COVID-19 and the University decided that the student should not be on campus, the University treats the student’s absence as an authorized absence.

8. Events and seminars

Faculties/centers or faculty/staff members need to cancel or postpone the event they are organizing if it is difficult to take preventive measures such as avoiding three Cs (1. Closed Space with poor ventilation, 2. Crowded Places with many people nearby and 3. Close-Contact Settings such as close-range conversations), maintaining physical distance (social distance), and ventilation.

Please follow the instructions on “2. Restarting the research activities 4) Events and seminars“ of the “Guideline for the research activities while preventing the spread of infection (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, May 14, 2020)” if you are organizing a large nationwide event at an academic conference and so on.

9. Club/circle and volunteer activities

We will decide on the measures considering the purpose of the restriction guideline. We will inform you when we ease the restrictions.

10．Lectures

As a general rule, we provide lectures online. Students without means of communication for online lectures or having difficulties accessing the online lectures due to low internet speed and so on may use the lecture rooms or study halls that have internet access, except when entering the campus is prohibited. Please refer to “University of the Ryukyus: Guideline for Restrictions on Activities for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19” and notification from Global Education Institute.

If you are using public transportation, please make an effort to prevent the spread of infection, such as by avoiding rush hours. Lecturers must be considerate and provide necessary support for the students having difficulties attending the online lectures.

11．Meetings

We recommend online meetings (using online services, videos, and emails) for meetings within the university. Face-to-face meetings with selected members (all members possible if the meeting size is small) are allowed for important meetings suppose that three Cs (1. Closed Space with poor ventilation, 2. Crowded Places with many people nearby and 3. Close-Contact Settings such as close-range conversations) are avoided.

12．Cleaning and disinfection of the facility and equipment

Faculties/ Centers must place cleaning items and disinfectants. On top of the usual cleaning routine, please wipe and disinfect the frequently touched surfaces. Those include doorknobs, light switches, handrails, chairs, common teaching materials, teaching aids, and IT tools. Please use alcohol or hypochlorous acid water (you can also dilute the household-use chlorine bleach) for wiping, before and after using the facility and equipment.

13．Research activities

Please implement research activities after taking measures against the spread of infection. In particular, please implement and restart the minimum necessary research activities, based on the “University of the Ryukyus: Guideline for Restrictions on Activities for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19” and following the “Guideline for the research activities while preventing the spread of infection (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, May 14, 2020)”.

Also, the fund distributing organizations for competitive research funds are making extensions for various procedures and responding to this situation flexibly. Please visit the below website of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology where information is put together and published.
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shinkou/torikumi/mext_00638.html

For your reference

Guideline for consultation and going to a hospital (updated on May 11, 2020)

• If you have severe symptoms of shortness of breath (difficulty breathing), strong feeling of weariness (fatigue) or fever
• If you are at higher risk for severe illness* and have relatively mild cold-like symptoms such as a fever or cough
  *If you are an elderly, receiving dialysis, taking immunosuppressive or anti-cancer medication, or have an underlying medical condition such as diabetes, heart disease, or respiratory disease such as COPD
• Those who do not have the above symptoms, but have mild and persistent cold/flu like symptoms

(If you have any symptoms for more than 4 days, please seek for consultation. As the symptoms vary between individuals, if you think you have a severe condition, we encourage you to seek consultation. That also applies to ones who keep taking antipyretics.)

After the consultation, if you are suspected to have infection of COVID-19, please visit the medical center you are instructed to go.

◆ Returnees and Contact Centers for New Coronavirus
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website: in Japanese

Reference Information

It is very important to obtain useful information such as local conditions, infection prevention, measures, support, and care for reducing stress. Please refer to the following websites. (Information with ◎ mark is particularly useful.)

• Examples of Practicing “New Lifestyle” (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
  (In Japanese) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000121431_newlifestyle.html
  (In English) https://corona.go.jp/prevention/pdf/en.newlifestyle.pdf

(in Japanese)

• ◎“-For Students- Mental health care related to prevention of the infection spread” (Health Administration Center)
• ◎“-Faculty and Staff Members- Mental health care related to prevention of the infection spread” (Health Administration Center)
• ◎“Illustrations of new coronavirus” (April 1, 2020, The Manichi Newspapers)
• ◎“Maintaining mental health during the pandemic” (Japanese Red Cross Society)
• ◎"Understanding three aspects of new coronavirus – to cut off the negative spiral” (Japanese Red Cross Society)
• “Briefing note on addressing mental health and psychosocial aspects of COVID-19(Inter-Agency Standing Committees: IASC)
• ”Situations of new coronavirus infection in Okinawa Prefecture” (Pref. of Okinawa)
• Guidelines for prevention of the infection according to industry (Cabinet Secretariat)

【Related websites】

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
• Notices regarding COVID-19 in each prefecture / Telephone consultation services(Prime Minister’s Office of Japan)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Travel and Overseas Residential Registration
• Message from the President of Japan Association of National Universities

Please make use of this campus advisory and check the updated information including above reference information. Also, please pay careful attention to your personal information and be calm and coolheaded.

Contact details for faculties and departments