COVID-19 Update: Complying with Campus Safety Requirements
06/02/2020, 05:55:01 PM
From the Vice President for Research at the University of Houston. View this message in browser.
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Dear Research Faculty,

​You received an email from President Khator today about the Phase 2 reopening on Monday, June 8. I will provide more details on what this means for research in my Friday letter. We continue to hear about non-compliance with the guidelines to reduce the risk of infection. Below, I reiterate these guidelines and ask emphatically that everyone who chose to be on campus adhere to them.

Online Training

Prior to returning to campus, you must complete the HR online training, even if you only want to come on campus to pick up something from your office. If you have not done so already, complete the required online training modules SH2005: COVID-19 Return to Work and SH2006: Coronavirus 19 Protocol Certification before returning on campus. To access the training, log into AcccesUH and click on the TAP Employee Online Training icon. If you do not have access to the training, contact your department chair and Raysa Caba (rwcaba@central.uh.edu) with the name and PeopleSoft ID to be added manually to the training module. 

Wearing Masks

You are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask when you are with other people on campus. This will become even more important as the number of people increases on campus. The guidelines ask everyone to wear a face covering when working on campus in situations where they are in close proximity (within six feet) of others.

Safety Violations

To decrease the risk of an outbreak, we urge you to report safety violations or situations where you do not feel that you can work safely. You can email either Environmental Health & Safety directly (ehs@uh.edu) or use the anonymous Fraud and Non-Compliance Hotline.

Signage

If you want to put signage up in your lab to remind people of the various precautions they can take to reduce the risk of infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas Department of State Health Service, and Harris County Public Health each offer a variety of free print resources developed to support COVID-19 recommendations. The UH Copy and Print Services also has signage available in a variety of formats to suit your facility’s needs. 

VPR Virtual Office Hours

Reopening research has gone well and we continue the research operations without incident. We are therefore taking a break from the weekly VPR Office Hours. The next session will be on Friday, June 19 at 11:30 a.m. (please note the time). You will be able to access the event through the Research & Innovation Teams site. I hope you will be able to join us again in a couple of weeks.

Zoom Backgrounds

In case you missed the link to the Zoom backgrounds that you might have seen during the Virtual VPR Office Hours, here it is on the Zoom Background page. You are welcome to download any of the images. These backgrounds encourage the behavior needed to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19, such as wearing masks, washing hands, checking health and social distancing.

 

Best regards,

Amr Elnashai, FREng  
Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer

Amr Elnashai | VP for Research and Technology Transfer | elnashai@uh.edu | 713-743-4736

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