Students, faculty, and staff planning travel to any Ebola-affected country must contact the University Health Service and the Office of Global Engagement prior to finalizing travel plans.
“With winter break approaching, it’s important for all students, faculty, and staff to be aware of the latest guidelines concerning travel to areas in West Africa where there is a significant risk of Ebola transmission,” says Ralph Manchester, director of University Health Service and professor of medicine. “Local and national requirements inform University policy.”
Those requirements include:
‧ The Monroe County Health Department is requiring all local colleges and universities to provide a list of all students who plan to spend time in any of the affected countries during the upcoming break. Based on current information, this now includes Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
‧ The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is urging all U.S. residents to avoid nonessential travel (Level 3) to Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. A precaution on travel (Level 2) is in place for Mali, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has had cases recently as well and Manchester urges the University community to review the CDC’s travel recommendations at wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices.
“In light of these issues, the University requires all students, faculty, and staff traveling to these areas to contact UHS (275-2662) and the Office for Global Engagement (273-1665 and global@rochester.edu) prior to finalizing travel plans. In addition, individuals may also register their travel online,” he says.
The CDC and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have enhanced layers of entry screening at major U.S. airports and new tracking for all people entering the United States from Ebola-affected countries. (www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/travelers/index.html)
For the most updated information about the Ebola outbreak, review the CDC’s website, www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html?s_cid=cdc_homepage_feature_001
Manchester says the University continues to monitor the Ebola situation closely and will provide updates as new information becomes available.
Information on the University’s Ebola preparedness is available on the Office of the Provost and UHS websites.
