University of Michigan is requiring its students to participate in “enhanced social distancing” for two weeks before arriving on campus, according to a letter published for students earlier this week.
The school is offering both in-person and online classes and said that it estimates roughly 70 percent of undergraduate credits can be taken online during the upcoming semester.
Students returning to campus are required to “observe a 14-day period of enhanced social distance at home” before entering the campus.
“It is an important part of our strategy to minimize risk and keep COVID-19 out of our community,” Martino Harmon, the vice president for student life, said in the letter.
The “enhanced social distancing” practices include taking body temperature twice daily, staying home, maintaining distance of six feet from others, avoiding public transportation and wearing a face mask when in public. Students will also be required to complete an “online learning module” about the COVID-19 symptoms and how to say safe.
For international students, the University of Michigan said that enhanced social distancing will begin when they arrive on campus.
Students moving into university housing will be required to be testing for coronavirus prior to arriving. The school said it is partnering with Quest Diagnostics to provide free testing kits.
Washtenaw County, home to Ann Arbor and University of Michigan, currently has more than 2,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and a death toll of 112, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. It neighbors Oakland and Wayne counties, which each have more than 14,000 and 13,000 confirmed cases, respectively. It also neighbors the less-impacted Livingston, Jackson, Lenawee and Monroe counties, which each have fewer than 1,000 confirmed cases.
“These are some of the many efforts underway to help you have a healthy and productive semester even though it will be different than years past,” Harmon said. “We look forward to welcoming you to the University of Michigan in the coming weeks.”
Read the full letter to students here.
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter at The Michigan Star and Star News Digital Media. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair.Email her at [email protected].
Photo “University of Michigan Students” by The University of Michigan.
