Campus Advisory for COVID-19(November 17, 2021)

Campus Advisory for COVID-19 (November 17, 2021)

November 17, 2021

To Students, Faculty and Staff Members:

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

We, the University, have been taking measures based on the countermeasures taken by the Okinawa Prefectural Government associated with the designation of areas subject to “Pre-emergency Measures for Prevention of Spread.”  As of May 9, however, there were some changes in the countermeasures taken by the Okinawa Prefectural Government.

In addition, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced the notification dated May 7 “Changes in the basic coping policy for measures against COVID-19 and points to note regarding responses to COVID-19 at universities, etc” and indicated important points to be considered.

Based on these notifications, the University will change the "Campus Advisory for COVID-19" as follows, so please read it along with the notifications mentioned above.

Changes from the previous campus advisory (September 30, 2020)
The items were rearranged as a whole and some minor corrections of wordings were made.

1. Health Observation
① Because clusters of COVID-19 infection have occurred at many business sites in Okinawa, "Thorough physical condition management (temperature measurement when going to work, etc.)” was added to the countermeasures taken by the Okinawa Prefectural Government associated with the designation of areas subject to “Pre-emergency Measures for Prevention of Spread.”  We, the University, announce “1. Health Observation” again as an important matter and ask students, faculty and staff members to observe health conditions thoroughly.

② In the previous campus advisory, there was the term “official absence” in the flowchart “1. Health Observation.”  Since this term is not officially defined at our university, the term “official absence” was changed to “absence”.  A faculty member/lecturer in charge needs to give consideration to an absent student according to “4. Measures for implementing lectures” of this notice.

2. Hygiene management and physical distancing (social distancing)
In the previous campus advisory, the University has asked to wear a mask when using indoor facilities.  However, it has been pointed out that there are possibilities to get infected even in open spaces (situations 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] are not overlapping), and the wording “indoor facilities” was deleted accordingly.

3. Avoiding Three Cs and ventilation
The information that there were cases of infection in situations where Three Cs were not overlapping was added.  Notes regarding eating and drinking were rearranged.

4. Measures for implementing lectures
The items “Lectures” and “When students are missing lectures” in the previous campus advisory were put together and rearranged.

6. Research Activities
The University clarified that research activities should be proceeded based on the “Guidelines for conducting research under activity restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

8. Travelling (business trips)
Adding to the previous advisory, in principle, business trips to the areas designated as the areas subject to “Pre-emergency Measures for Prevention of Spread” are prohibited.  We also request students to refrain from travelling to these areas.

9. Travelling Abroad
① The website address of “Regarding denial of landing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (novel Coronavirus” of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan has been revised.
(former address) http://www.moj.go.jp/hisho/kouhou/hisho06_00099.html
(new address) http://www.moj.go.jp/isa/hisho06_00099.html

② In the previous campus advisory, it was stated that persons who stayed in the areas  designated as subject to denial of landing within the past 14 days from the date of entry into Japan were required to be tested for COVID-19.  Since January 9, 2021, all travelers entering Japan have been subject to tests for COVID-19 and the information was added to the Campus Advisory.

③ It was added that, for all travelers entering Japan (including Japanese nationals), it is required to obtain a certificate of testing for COVID-19 taken within 72 hours prior to departure from the country/region of stay.

11. Events, symposia and seminars
The word “Symposia” was added to the item title and the wordings regarding the guideline for hosting events were also rearranged.

[Excerpt of infection control indicated in the administrative notice] was deleted because it was the notice at the time of the previous campus advisory.
* Please refer to the following websites for the latest notifications.
◎ Cabinet Secretariat “COVID-19 Information and Resources”
　https://corona.go.jp/en/
◎ Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) “Information on MEXT's measures against COVID-19”
　https://www.mext.go.jp/en/mext_00006.html

1. Health observation

Please observe your health conditions by taking body temperature daily. Please ask your family members living 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:
http://rais.skr.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/dc/?p=9719
(University of the Ryukyus Academic Information System)

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

Even if COVID-19 symptoms have subsided, do not commute to school/work on your own judgement.  Please contact the Health Administration Center or the office of your faculty/center first to ask for instructions, since there are some cases that the patients tested positive on PCR tests after the fever went down.

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, disinfection, practicing cough etiquette, wearing a face mask, and carrying your own towel and so on. Please maintain 2-meter (1 meter at least) distance between yourself and other people.
Please make sure to wear a mask when attending face-to-face classes (except during physical educations, etc.), using indoor facilities on/off campus and when going to places where an unspecified people visit, in order to avoid the risk of droplet infection.

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 or dining with a number of people in closed space.

Please ventilate a room at all the time if the weather allows. If possible, open windows in the opposite directions for air circulation. (Please note that it is necessary to ventilate even when you are using an air conditioner.)

Even in situations where Three Cs are not overlapping, there are reported cases of infection caused by chatting, eating or drinking while sitting in a circle outside.  Besides these cases and the spread of highly infectious variants, please be more cautious and alert for the prevention measures against infection.
If you have to participate in a gathering that involves eating and drinking, please use a uncrowded restaurant which complies with the guidelines for each industry, has good ventilation, has a sufficient distance between seats, and implements proper measures against infection.  In addition, please be sure to dine with your family members or up to 4 people, stay for a short period of time, and wear a mask during conversations.

4．Measures for implementing lectures

Courses can be provided by face-to-face lectures, online lectures, or hybrid of both.  Face-to-face lectures are to be provided after taking preventive measures against the spread of infection.

Please specify the lecture contents, means of attendance confirmation, assignment contents, test methods, and so on in the syllabus, announce it promptly on the Academic Information System, and give thorough explanations to students.

If a student is infected or suspected to be infected with COVID-19 (such as having a cold symptom, being considered as a close contact, having a family member considered as a close contact, etc.) and unable to attend a lecture, please take measures such as giving a student reporting assignment or a supplementary lecture instead of treating the student’s absence as nonattendance.

In case a student has consulted about being unable to attend a face-to-face lecture due to a compelling reason, a fear of taking risks of infection on the way to the campus, etc., please give necessary consideration to the student.

Please check the syllabus frequently and make sure how lectures are going to be provided.
If a student is infected or suspected to be infected with COVID-19 (such as having a cold symptom, being considered as a close contact, having a family member considered as a close contact, etc.) and unable to attend a lecture, measures such as giving a student reporting assignment or a supplementary lecture should be taken instead of treating the student’s absence as nonattendance.  Please make sure to contact a faculty member/ lecturer in charge to inform the situation.

In case you are unable to attend a face-to-face lecture due to a compelling reason, a fear of taking risks of infection on the way to the campus, etc., please consult with a faculty member/lecturer in charge.

5. Extra-curricular activities

For planning extra-curricular activities, students must receive confirmation from the advisor and report to the University, on the premise that the students take appropriate measures to prevent infection. Please ask Student Support Section for the procedure.

Also, if the students are joining competition or going on a tour in or outside of Okinawa Prefecture, please submit “Request for Training Camp/ Tour” and follow “New Lifestyle” at the destination.
“New Lifestyle”: https://corona.go.jp/prevention/pdf/en.newlifestyle.pdf

6．Research activities

Please implement research activities after taking measures against the spread of infection. In particular, please conduct research activities referring to the “Guidelines for conducting research under activity restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19” based on the University’s guideline for restrictions on activities for preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The organizations granting competitive research funds have made various procedural extensions and responding to this situation flexibly. Please visit the following website of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology where information is put together and posted.
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shinkou/torikumi/mext_00638.html

7．Cleaning and disinfection of the facility and equipment

Faculties/Centers need to place cleaning items and disinfectants at facilities.

Please wipe and disinfect the frequently touched surfaces. Those include desks, chairs, doorknobs, switches, handrails, common teaching materials, teaching aids, IT tools, and so on. Please use ethanol for disinfection or sodium hypochlorite disinfectant (you can also dilute the household-use chlorine bleach) for wiping before and after using the facilities and equipments.

Sodium hypochlorite disinfectant could irritate the skin. It has corrosive and bleaching effect. Please wear gloves when using it and wipe it off with water after using it.

8. Travelling (Business trips)

Please check the warnings, restrictions and requests for the municipality of the destination before making a trip (business trip) and follow these information while travelling.

When travelling, please keep a record of the route you take, whom you meet and where the meetings are 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.

In principle, faculty and staff members are prohibited to travel to the areas under the state of emergency, areas subject to pre-emergency measures, or areas municipalities request to refrain from traveling or the University’s Risk Management Headquarters designates (the University Hospital separately designates areas).  If you need to travel to those areas due to the unavoidable circumstances, you need to obtain a permission from the Head of the Faculty/Center.
※Currently, there is no area designated by the Risk Management Headquarters.

Please refrain from traveling to the areas under the state of emergency, areas subject to pre-emergency measures, or areas municipalities request to refrain from traveling or the University’s Risk Management Headquarters designates (the University Hospital separately designates areas), except for unavoidable cases.
※Currently, there is no area designated by the Risk Management Headquarters.

9. Traveling abroad

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

However, in case that there is a special circumstance for an unavoidable overseas travel, it is requested to consult with the Head of the Faculty/Center and make careful judgement after referring to “Immigration restrictions by each country/region for travelers from Japan and Japanese people related to COVID-19 and restrictions on activities after entry” and “Phased Measures for Resuming Cross-Border Travel,” posted on the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For international students, faculty/staff members with foreign nationalities, please consult with the Head of the Faculty/Center and make careful judgement on whether the circumstance shall fall under any of the “special exceptional circumstances,” after referring to the website of the Immigration Services Agency “Regarding denial of landing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
http://www.moj.go.jp/isa/hisho06_00099.html

Please note that all travelers entering Japan, regardless of nationalities, have to comply with the request of 14-day self-quarantine at a place designated by the chief of the quarantine station.  In addition, those who have stayed in the country/region designated as areas subject to denial of landing by the Immigration Control Act within 14 days before landing are required to take a test for COVID-19. (Since January 9, 2021, all travelers entering Japan have been subject to inspection.)

In addition, all travelers entering Japan (including Japanese nationals) are required to obtain a certificate of testing for COVID-19 taken within 72 hours prior to departing from the country/region of stay.  Please note that additional border measures may be taken for travelers entering Japan from specific countries/regions.

For those who returned from abroad, such as international students, 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.

10. 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 fields, receiving supervision online or implementing joint research online are possible. Please consider alternative methods as well.

11. 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 the 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.

If you are organizing an event at an academic conference and so on, please follow “4. Symposiums and seminars in the Precautions for conducting research activities at universities and research institutes (Attachment 1)” of the “Guideline for the research activities while preventing the spread of infection (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, October 6, 2020),” as well as “Guidelines for Implementation of Events by Okinawa Prefecture regarding COVID-19.”

12．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 if only the 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.

1.Health Observation: Flowchart

5. Overseas Travels: Flowchart for Returnees and visitors

〇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]
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/covid19-kikokusyasessyokusya.html

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
◎“-For Students- Mental health care related to prevention of the infection spread” [University of the Ryukyus Health Administration Center]
 (in Japanese) http://w3.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/hokekan/notice/R2/20200414Students.pdf
◎“-Faculty and Staff Members- Mental health care related to prevention of the infection spread” [University of the Ryukyus Health Administration Center]
(in Japanese) http://w3.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/hokekan/notice/R2/20200414Faculty%20and%20staff.pdf
◎Cabinet Secretariat “COVID-19 Information and Resources
(in English) https://corona.go.jp/en/
◎Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) “Information on MEXT's measures against COVID-19”
(in English) https://www.mext.go.jp/en/mext_00006.html
◎“Maintaining mental health during the pandemic” [Japanese Red Cross Society]
(in Japanese) https://www.jrc.or.jp/saigai/news/200327_006138.html
◎"Understanding three aspects of new coronavirus – to cut off the negative spiral” [Japanese Red Cross Society]
(in Japanese) https://www.jrc.or.jp/saigai/news/200326_006124.html
・“Briefing note on addressing mental health and psychosocial aspects of COVID-19[Inter-Agency Standing Committees: IASC]
(in English) https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/iasc-reference-group-mental-health-and-psychosocial-support-emergency-settings/interim-briefing-note-addressing-mental-health-and-psychosocial-aspects-covid-19-outbreak
・”Situations of new coronavirus infection in Okinawa Prefecture” [Okinawa Prefectural Government]
(in Japanese) https://www.pref.okinawa.lg.jp/site/chijiko/kohokoryu/koho/2020_new_corona_potal.html
(in English) https://translate.google.co.jp/translate?hl=ja&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pref.okinawa.jp%2Findex.html

【Related websites】
〇Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Overseas safety information
(in Japanese) https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/
〇Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
(in English) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/
〇Notices regarding COVID-19 in each prefecture / Telephone consultation services
[Prime Minister’s Office of Japan]
 (in Japanese) http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/pages/corona_news.html
Information on health and medical consultation
(in English) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/covid-19/kenkou-iryousoudan_00006.html
〇Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Travel and Overseas Residential Registration
(in Japanese) https://www.ezairyu.mofa.go.jp/index.html

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