My presentation from a live President’s Town Hall meeting (held on September 28, 2020)
I’d like to begin my portion of this Town Hall presentation acknowledging that this experience, that we are all sharing together, is a journey. It’s a longer journey that any of us would like, with many twists and turns in the road. Some can be anticipated, and some are unexpected. It’s important to stop for a moment and reflect on how far we have already come, where we are now, and what lays ahead for us as a University of Minnesota community.
How far have we come?
We have created and implemented a layered public health plan based on several fundamental principles.
Most important, we have provided options for those at increased risk. Our goal has always been to provide opportunities for people to learn, teach, research, provide service, and interact as a community, in the manner that each person believes is best for them. It is important for all of us to remember that some members of our community are at greater risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19.
We have created systems and environments to support the key prevention strategies of distancing and mask use. I have had the pleasure of returning to the Twin Campus to teach in person. This is my favorite time of year. I’d like to thank all the employees on our five campuses who have worked so hard to welcome us back into an environment that is as safe as they can make it from a space and procedures perspective. Every single activity and space has been carefully reviewed and modified. When you see a sticker on the floor, just remember that someone got on their hands and knees to measure the right distance for you and place that sticker to support your safety. The same is true for every classroom, library, dining hall, and elevator. Every poster and sign you see was carefully written, designed, and placed for you. Heavy furniture and fitness equipment was moved on your behalf to support the important health goal of physical distancing.
Systems have also been created to support key public health response measures including testing, case investigation, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine.
Where are we now?
We are actively monitoring. We have teams reviewing public health indicators and campus operations information daily, often hourly, on all of our campuses. We work hand-in-hand with the Minnesota Department of Health and our local public health partners. At this time, the public health response measures on all of our campuses are working as planned.
We are adjusting. This is an evolving situation every single day. We are constantly enhancing our efforts. There are many examples. One example is from our largest dining hall on the Twin Cities campus. From a public health perspective, eating in group settings where face coverings are removed - whether in our dining halls, in restaurants, or in any other social setting - poses greater risks for COVID-19 transmission than many other settings. Our initial set-up in the Pioneer dining hall was based on the most restrictive public health measures to support physical distancing. We heard loud and clear from our dining hall partners that we needed to consider adjustments after they received concerns from our community. We quickly met with campus and state public health leaders to review and make an adjusted plan that allows for greater food choices and use of available space, but also requires more personal responsibility for maintaining physical distance. We all need to work together.
We are working to expand access to testing. President Gabel and I recently had the opportunity to talk with Governor Walz and his team about testing in Minnesota and the unique challenges in higher education. You may have noticed reports in the news about new testing sites being established in Minnesota. These sites are using saliva-based testing which has recently become more widely available in Minnesota through a state initiative. We are actively working with state partners and their testing vendor to explore access to self-collected saliva-based testing for our students, staff, and faculty. A proposal will be reviewed with Regents at their next meeting.
We are tired. All of us. “Pandemic fatigue” has set in big time. But we need to recommit to prevention. Like many states in the U.S., we now have widespread transmission of COVID-19. What I tell people is this, “Any time you are with a group of people, whether in a store, a church, a restaurant, a classroom, a worksite, or a family reunion, assume there are people there with COVID-19. Since you can’t know who it is, you should protect yourself by assuming everyone has COVID-19. Our only true prevention strategies continue to be physical distancing of 6 feet or more, and consistent and correct use of face coverings.
Where are we going?
From a public health perspective, we will continue to monitor and adjust as needed until this journey is over.
We must be prepared for all possibilities. Other universities in the U.S. and a few in Minnesota have had clusters and outbreaks on their campuses that required prompt public health action including expanded testing, investigation, isolation, and group level quarantine. This is another area where the new saliva-based resources in Minnesota come into play. We are working to secure additional testing resources and we are creating a Rapid Response Team to use saliva-based testing in an outbreak situation should we need it.
We must look for that light at the end of the tunnel. The Minnesota Department of Health has started planning for the eventual distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota. Our campus public health staff are at that table learning and contributing. Providing vaccines in a physically distant setting is different than what we are used to. But if you get your flu shot in the coming days, and I hope you will, you’ll see that our wonderful health service staff have plans and procedures for that. We’re working now on the creation of vaccine distribution plans that will hopefully signal the end to this pandemic.
In conclusion, I’d like to acknowledge that some watching may be thinking, “I’m not concerned about becoming infected with this virus, it really won’t impact me. I’ve known other people who have had it, and it was no big deal.” You may be right – we actually do not know that. Only time will tell. But you could be the one person who transmits the virus to someone who transmits the virus to someone who does become severely ill and dies. In my public health classroom, we talk about the chain of infection.
My challenge for our statewide community is that every Bulldog, Eagle, Raptor, Cougar, and Gopher steps up to break that chain in our homes, on our campuses, and in our neighborhoods. Thank you.