IMPORTANT UPDATE | CORONA VIRUS MARCH 3

To the UNE Community,

UNE understands that communications provided on the continually escalating COVID-19 situation is now also concentrating on restricting the domestic spread of this virus. We continue to closely monitor the official alerts surrounding the respiratory illness outbreak. As well as linking to the latest information provided by both the federal and state authorities below, there are also recommendations on managing your safety in social situations and public spaces:

1. Instead of greeting someone by shaking hands, kissing hello or hugging, stand back and acknowledge with a friendly gesture
2. Hand sanitiser has been positioned nearby as many toilets and main entrances in all of our campuses and residential colleges – use it regularly
3. Consider avoiding large events where diverse groups of people are gathered from varied areas
4. For UNE Staff, all international travel requested must be booked through Campus Travel so individual staff can be approved to travel and your whereabouts are known
5. As part of UNE’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak, we have revised our international travel approval protocols to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students. All international travel will now need to be approved by the Chief Operating Officer as the level 2 travel approver.

The extended travel restrictions are still in place as announced by the Federal Government AHPPC which was last updated on 24^th February.

All Federal Government advice has also been updated:

• The Department of Education, Skills, and Employment have updated it’s fact sheets
• For further health advice please visit the Department of Health website
• For information on travel restrictions please visit the Department of Home Affairs website
• If you have arrived back from the Chinese mainland and you need to self-isolate, the BBC has prepared a video to explain what you need to do.

If you have been to China and you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, you should immediately phone your GP and explain your symptoms and your travel history. Do not make an appointment or attend a GP practice or hospital without informing them first, as they will need to make arrangements to protect others before you arrive.

This message has been provided by Professor Peter Creamer | Chief Operating Officer, UNE