As you would have heard from several reports, the Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is evolving internationally so it’s important that we are all aware of what we need to do to look after ourselves and reduce the potential exposure of the virus to everyone who comes to our campuses. There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in New Zealand to date, but we are taking several preventative, precautionary measures to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our staff, students and visitors.
We are monitoring the situation closely and would encourage students and staff to contact Healthline at 0800 611 116 or their GP for further medical advice. Healthline has translators and interpreters available 24/7 in 150 languages and Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking staff are available. Students overseas should follow their regional health guidelines.
The health and wellbeing of our students and staff is of paramount importance, so based on advice for tertiary institutions from the Ministry of Health and EDUCATION.govt.nz, we are implementing the following preventative and precautionary actions:
- There is a mandatory stand-down for anyone who is actively unwell, to stay at home for 14 days, in line with our general practices around health and wellbeing.
- There is also a mandatory stand down for any staff or students who have recently arrived or returned from China. This means for a students a delay to their start at Unitec for 14 days from the date of arrival in New Zealand to ensure they have not contracted or spread the virus. We are looking at late start options for students who will miss the start of Semester 1 due to quarantine and will provide further information to affected students as soon as possible.
- The introduction of a temporary travel ban for all staff travelling to China, with immediate effect. Please discuss with your manager any risk associated with other overseas travel and contact your HR Business Partner to check if there are any other parameters you need to be aware of.
- We are urging all staff, students and their families to follow the World Health Organisation recommendations to ‘keep well’, which includes the following:
- Avoiding close contact with people who are sick
- Wash your hands frequently, especially after contact with ill people or their environment
- Avoid close contact with sick farm animals or wild animals
- People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette: maintain distance, cover mouth, and cover coughs or sneezes with disposable cloths or clothing
- We are creating general signage and implementing other precautionary measures for large gatherings at both our Unitec campuses, including tikanga around pōwhiri. These include encouraging any visitors who are generally unwell to stay at home, in line with our general practices around health and wellbeing, and the provision of hand sanitizer stations throughout our campuses.
- We have activated our Incident Management Team process to closely monitor and analyse the situation and recommend any further actions.
Please review the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for more information or talk to your team leader if you have any other questions.
FAQs
Q: What is Unitec doing to monitor the coronavirus situation?
A: We are posting Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and TEC advisories and updates on our staff and student websites, along with contact details for further questions. We have reminded staff, students and their families to follow the World Health Organisation recommendations to ‘keep well’ and urged anyone who is actively unwell to stay at home, in line with our general practices around health and wellbeing. We are closely and actively monitoring the situation and will continue to keep staff and students fully updated as further information comes to hand.
Q: What is Unitec doing to safeguard the spread of the virus?
A: We have issued a temporary travel ban on staff travelling to China, and advised staff to contact their managers for advice on other overseas travel.
We have also requested that staff and students arriving or returning from China delay their start at Unitec for 14 days from the date of arrival into NZ, even if they’re feeling well. This is a new virus and its specific nature is currently unclear, however it appears that you can have the virus at an early stage and not be showing any symptoms. The recommended approach is a 14-day incubation period. A medical certificate will not be acceptable without the 14-day incubation period.
Staff can work from home during that time, but you need to check in with your manager first. We’ll maintain a register so we can evaluate IT and other staffing needs. Students who are concerned about missing the start of Semester 1 can apply for a Late Start dispensation via our International Student Advisory Team which will be liaising directly with affected students to give advice on how they can start their studies remotely.
We are creating general signage and implementing other precautionary measures for large gatherings at both our Unitec campuses, including tikanga around pōwhiri. These include encouraging any visitors who are generally unwell to stay at home, in line with our general practices around health and wellbeing, and the provision of hand sanitizer stations throughout our campuses. We would also advise seeking medical advice through GP channels if anyone has concerns about pre-existing health conditions or general concerns.
Q: What about students currently in Wuhan who are enroled at Unitec?
A: All residents and visitors in Wuhan are currently under quarantine, so they won’t be able to travel to New Zealand until the ban is lifted. It is likely that these students will need to defer their start date until Semester 2. They can also apply for Late Start dispensation via the International Student Advisory team. Our International Student Advisory team will be reaching out to the students concerned.
Q: What advice can we give our homestay providers?
A: The International Student Advisory Team will be liaising directly with homestay providers.