Dear University of Utah community,
We are writing to ask for your help.
Cases of COVID-19 have significantly increased in Utah in recent weeks and are adversely affecting our U family—students, staff, faculty, and our friends in the larger community. Our hospitals also are being pushed to capacity with cases of serious illness.
- Wear a face covering whenever you are around others.
- Maintain a physical distance of 6 feet.
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.
- Gather only in small groups and, when you do, wear face coverings.
- Stay home if you are not feeling well.
Given the sense of isolation we all feel, we know that it is particularly difficult not to gather in person, but this is vital in reducing the spread of coronavirus.
We have now reached the mid-point of the Fall 2020 Semester and we want to express tremendous gratitude for the efforts all of you have made to follow our health and safety guidance. Now, more than ever, we need your partnership in redoubling these efforts.
If we are not able to reduce coronavirus infection in our community, we will have to consider additional actions on campus. Some of our peer universities have returned to online-only learning, quarantined all on-campus housing residents, and prohibited gatherings of any size. We are asking for your help now to avoid the need for these and other actions at the U.
Let’s be the university that gets this right. Let’s work together to stay together on campus—to make a difference, lower the infection rates, and sustain the activities that make the U such a vibrant and wonderful place to work and learn.
We are grateful for your efforts to date and are hopeful for your continued vigilance in the weeks ahead.
Ruth Watkins
President
Mike Good
Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
Dan Reed
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs