San Diego State sent a university-wide email on March 19 informing the campus community of the changes following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement for a statewide “stay at home” order, along with the Department of State advisories on travel.
This order means that California residents must stay at home or their place of residence, except to maintain the operation of federal critical infrastructure, according to CA.gov. The website lists some of these as healthcare, transportation systems, government facilities and emergency services. The order also said that essential services such as gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores and banks are some of the amenities still open.
“The executive order also calls out exceptions for those whose work is needed to maintain continuity of operation for critical infrastructure sectors,” according to the email. “One of these sectors, for government facilities, includes colleges and universities.”
SDSU’s campus will remain open and this order has no impact on the “continuity of instruction, advising, and comprehensive student support services in virtual settings,” the email said.
Those who work on campus for maintenance, care and security of facilities can continue to do work on campus while maintaining social distancing guidelines, according to the university. Some researchers can also continue their work if their research cannot be done remotely or deferred. The university has provided more information via the Graduate and Research Affairs (GRA) Coronavirus webpage.
Students who were also approved for long-term housing can stay on campus.
Along with announcements by Newsom, the Department of State also issued a level four global health advisory for all U.S. citizens, urging people to avoid all international travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.
According to the email, the California State University followed the advisory by calling for all international travel, across the world, to be discontinued. Study abroad students are being asked to consider their safest options and exceptions can now only be approved by the campus president, the statement said.
Students abroad can come home at no cost to them, according to the university. Any questions about study abroad should be directed to studyabroad@sdsu.edu. The school also said they urge returning students to abide by the Centers for Disease Control’s 14-day self-quarantine.
SDSU said they have also received information this afternoon from the Tulare County Health and Human Services that a study abroad student returning from Spain tested positive for COVID-19; however, the student returned directly home and did not come to campus. This is the second confirmed case of coronavirus connected to SDSU and the cases are not connected, according to the email. The university said the student is currently self-isolating at home, outside of San Diego County.
For more updates regarding COVID-19 and SDSU, visit the university webpage.
