Dear members of the Virginia Tech community:

As COVID-19 infections caused by novel coronavirus continue to spread across many countries, including the United States, we are actively monitoring and assessing the risks posed to the health of our students, faculty, and staff both overseas and at home. Guided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Virginia Department of Health, and Virginia Tech’s Schiffert Health Center, a number of important actions are in the process of being planned and implemented.

These actions are described in more detail on Virginia Tech’s COVID-19 website, where relevant information will be updated periodically in accordance with any new developments or risk assessments. The information provided on this site is designed to protect the health of our community members, while enabling students to maintain academic progress and mitigate adverse financial consequences resulting from disruption of travel arrangements.

Please note that university policy necessitates the suspension of academic programs when a CDC Travel Advisory Level 3 is issued. In addition to countries that are currently subject to a Level 3 advisory, we are monitoring assessments of the health risk in countries that are not currently subject to any CDC travel advisories, but that may be in future, such as the Ticino canton in Switzerland, where we have students and faculty at the Steger Center and in Lugano. In the absence of a CDC travel advisory, we are not suspending these programs at this time. However, should any students wish to return home before the end of the semester, academic departments will work hard to ensure that they have are given an opportunity to complete their coursework.

Recently implemented actions also address the need to minimize the risk posed by students, staff, and faculty returning from high-risk countries to Virginia Tech campuses, including the use of self-quarantine to protect their health and minimize the risk of further spread of COVID-19.

Please visit the COVID-19 website for more detailed information.
 
Sincerely,

Cyril Clarke,
Executive Vice President and Provost

 

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