Important information on the use of campus facilities
January 22, 2021
Dear Johns Hopkins Community,
The spring semester is nearly upon us. Undergraduates began moving into our residence halls over the weekend, and next week, many of our divisions will begin their first in-person classes in almost a year. In the days ahead, more faculty, staff, and students will return to our campuses, and we wish to inform you of several policies and procedures that will be in place for on-campus work and the use of our facilities to foster safety during the COVID pandemic. Full details are available in our Return to Campus guidance, and a summary of several key points is below.
Facilities access
Access to JHU facilities will generally require the use of ID card-enabled doors or security stations to support monitoring of building use and compliance with health assessment and testing requirements. Affiliates who have key access to alternate doors are asked to enter through monitored or card reader-enabled doors and swipe in or display their Johns Hopkins ID upon access. To facilitate this access requirement, additional card reader devices have been installed on the Homewood campus so that each building has at least one card access-controlled door. Over the next year, additional card reader installations will be completed.
Note that many doors operate with ADA controls and may open and close slowly. Affiliates do not need to wait for the door to close each time but must swipe their card when they enter.
Rules for the use of on-campus facilities will be consistent with our academic and research priorities as outlined in our Return to Research and Return to Instruction guides. We anticipate that all current rules and procedures, including research density, use of individual offices, etc., will remain in effect throughout the spring semester. More details about acceptable and restricted use of facilities on the Homewood campus are available here. Information about the use of facilities on otherJHU campuses will be communicated by the relevant divisions.
Reporting to work
Even with the resumption of some on-campus instruction and other activities, in-person work for faculty and staff is still limited to those who need to be physically present for teaching, research, clinical services, or campus operations. All others will likely continue to work remotely throughout the spring semester. Each dean’s office and University Administration is ultimately responsible for determining who is expected or permitted to return to campus. You should not report to work in person unless you have been instructed or authorized to do so.
Some members of our community face a greater risk from COVID-19 than others, and we encourage faculty, staff, and students who have concerns about their individual circumstances to consider consulting with the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) or Human Resources (HR) about the process for seeking a reasonable accommodation or adjustment. More information for faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows on the accommodations process may be found on the OIE website or accessibility.jhu.edu, or by phone (410-516-8075) or email (oie@jhu.edu or OIEdisability@jhu.edu). We also recognize that the pandemic has created a host of new stresses for our workforce, and the university has created or enhanced a variety of resources to help, including expanded support for childcare. More information is available here.
COVID testing
Each school has established policies for testing their asymptomatic affiliates. Broadly, testing will be required twice weekly for undergraduates and at least once weekly for any affiliate who is either participating in or directly supporting in-person, on-campus classes (with exceptions for clinically based instruction) or regularly exposed to undergraduates. Details regarding testing expectations will be distributed directly from the school. More details on how to schedule an appointment and the hours and locations of testing facilities are available here. Compliance with required testing will be documented through the ProDensity app.
Please note that anyone who has tested positive for the COVID virus during the previous 90 days is temporarily exempt from any asymptomatic testing requirements because continued testing in this population would continue to detect the virus, even after the individuals are no longer sick or contagious.
Travel
University business travel remains restricted, and personal travel discouraged. In December, Gov. Hogan issued an emergency order requiring Marylanders to limit all travel to essential purposes only. All Marylanders who do travel outside of Maryland or any individuals who travel to Maryland must either obtain a negative COVID-19 test result or self-quarantine for 10 days. This applies to all states, with the exception of Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Johns Hopkins students, faculty, and staff who must travel can use university COVID testing to fulfill those requirements.
The state’s travel requirements are in addition to Johns Hopkins’ requirements, which include self-quarantining upon return until a negative test result is received. This semester, we will also be instituting a registration requirement for any travel. Details on how to register will be communicated soon.
We thank you for your hard work to fulfill the university’s mission of education, research, and service under the difficult conditions posed by the pandemic. We are excited at the opportunity to expand our in-person activity on our campuses, and we ask for your patience and understanding as we all adjust to new practices and procedures to keep each other safe and healthy.
Be well,
Stephen Gange
Professor and Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Jane Schlegel
Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
