WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.190 --> 00:00:05.540 Earlier today, University leaders wrote to inform our community that we are enacting 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:10.280 new, temporary restrictions, effective tonight, in response to a rise 00:00:10.280 --> 00:00:12.659 in COVID-19 cases. 00:00:12.659 --> 00:00:18.020 This rise in new cases is appearing on-Grounds and off-Grounds, and is not confined to a 00:00:18.020 --> 00:00:21.520 particular residence hall or other residence. 00:00:21.520 --> 00:00:27.300 Our aggressive testing rolled out this semester has allowed us to more quickly identify cases, 00:00:27.300 --> 00:00:32.920 and contact tracing through VDH continues to help us target outreach and follow-up through 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:35.829 quarantine and isolation. 00:00:35.829 --> 00:00:40.050 In order to quickly to reverse this spike in cases, and protect the health and safety 00:00:40.050 --> 00:00:45.629 of the UVA community and our Charlottesville neighbors, we need to impose greater restrictions 00:00:45.629 --> 00:00:48.140 for a temporary period of time. 00:00:48.140 --> 00:00:52.859 All in-person events and gatherings, on- and off-Grounds, are prohibited and should 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:54.589 be moved online. 00:00:54.589 --> 00:01:00.390 See the email you received for more information on what constitutes a gathering. 00:01:00.390 --> 00:01:04.290 On-Grounds students may leave their residence hall for essential activities such as: 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:10.650 Attend an in-person class, eating at a dining hall or picking up a meal, or others identified 00:01:10.650 --> 00:01:13.230 in the email you received today. 00:01:13.230 --> 00:01:18.160 Off-Grounds students are encouraged to remain at home and limit contact with individuals 00:01:18.160 --> 00:01:19.900 outside of their living arrangement. 00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:22.050 Off-Grounds students may only come to Grounds to: 00:01:22.050 --> 00:01:28.350 Attend class, eat at a dining hall or pick up food if they have a meal plan, take a COVID-19 00:01:28.350 --> 00:01:31.730 test or go to work at an on-Grounds job. 00:01:31.730 --> 00:01:36.030 Recreational facilities will be closed throughout this period, and libraries will 00:01:36.030 --> 00:01:39.430 offer contact-less pickup only. 00:01:39.430 --> 00:01:44.280 Dining facilities will remain open and grab-and-go options will be available. 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:49.050 In-person seating will be restricted though, to no more than 2 people together. 00:01:49.050 --> 00:01:54.170 Research operations will continue, with any modifications determined by the VP for 00:01:54.170 --> 00:01:56.700 Research and the Provost. 00:01:56.700 --> 00:02:02.950 All instruction will continue to be either in person, hybrid, or online for undergraduate, 00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:06.970 as well as graduate and professional students. 00:02:06.970 --> 00:02:11.910 The rise in cases we are seeing is directly related to individual decisions to ignore 00:02:11.910 --> 00:02:17.370 -- even for one night -- or outright violate the University’s health and safety protocols 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:20.530 that we know can stop transmission of the virus. 00:02:20.530 --> 00:02:24.960 When people gather in numbers larger than mandated, remove their masks when they’re 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:31.310 around others, sit or stand too closely, or make other decisions to sidestep these protocols, 00:02:31.310 --> 00:02:33.420 the virus spreads. 00:02:33.420 --> 00:02:39.180 Large events are a particular risk, but transmission is also occurring when just a few people gather 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:42.569 too closely together and forego a mask. 00:02:42.569 --> 00:02:47.400 We are seeing transmission in a variety of venues and a variety of ways. 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:50.990 Fortunately, we all have agency in what happens next. 00:02:50.990 --> 00:02:55.870 A virus that spreads when people make the wrong decision can’t spread as easily when 00:02:55.870 --> 00:02:58.060 people make the right one. 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:03.490 If we spend the next 10 days making the right decisions, cases will fall as they did after 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:08.930 the spike last September when students redoubled their efforts at compliance. 00:03:08.930 --> 00:03:14.400 Once case counts go down and this recent trend is reversed, our quarantine and isolation 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:19.380 spaces will free up, and we will be able to lift these enhanced restrictions. 00:03:19.380 --> 00:03:24.350 I recognize today is Mardi Gras and tomorrow is a break day with no classes. 00:03:24.350 --> 00:03:29.940 However, I urge you not to use this as an excuse to violate these enhanced restrictions 00:03:29.940 --> 00:03:32.700 and make a bad situation worse. 00:03:32.700 --> 00:03:37.650 Those undergraduates who recently joined fraternities and sororities must immediately step back 00:03:37.650 --> 00:03:44.270 from any planned new member activities that cannot be conducted wholly online. 00:03:44.270 --> 00:03:48.650 Those of you who had planned even small events or gatherings with your clubs and friend groups 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:55.430 must also cancel those plans until the enhanced restrictions are lifted. 00:03:55.430 --> 00:04:00.340 This includes activities for which an exception had been granted by the special committee 00:04:00.340 --> 00:04:02.950 for seeing those exceptions through. 00:04:02.950 --> 00:04:08.450 There can be no gatherings during this enhanced restriction period. 00:04:08.450 --> 00:04:14.190 I recognize this has been a difficult academic year and you’re tired, as the COVID marathon 00:04:14.190 --> 00:04:18.230 we’ve all been running is now a year old and still ongoing. 00:04:18.230 --> 00:04:23.020 If you’re in need of help, the University offers resources to assist you. 00:04:23.020 --> 00:04:28.360 But frustration with the pandemic’s impact on your college experience cannot be an excuse 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:31.570 to endanger the health of other people. 00:04:31.570 --> 00:04:36.600 Last September, after a surge in cases required the University to enact new restrictions in 00:04:36.600 --> 00:04:42.530 order to keep people safe, you responded and we got the spike in cases under control. 00:04:42.530 --> 00:04:46.949 This is another pivotal moment with an even greater threat given new, more contagious 00:04:46.949 --> 00:04:52.710 variants of the virus, but we can reverse the virus’ upward trend once again if we take 00:04:52.710 --> 00:04:57.660 the steps as individuals that will result in our community bending the curve and keeping 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:00.370 each other healthy and safe. 00:05:00.370 --> 00:05:04.740 We will aggressively enforce these enhanced restrictions, but our hope is that everyone 00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:11.620 will recognize the impact of their individual decisions and do the right thing.