This message was sent via email to the University community on August 9, 2022
Dear University Community,
Cases of monkeypox (MPV) continue to rise in several parts of the country, leading federal officials to declare the outbreak a public health emergency. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul recently declared a State Disaster Emergency and took other early measures to address this emerging public health issue. Although only a handful of MPV infections have been identified in the Rochester region, we expect these numbers to increase.
The University is closely monitoring the emergence of MPV in New York State and in our region and we have developed guidance in coordination with our infectious disease experts, the Monroe County Health Department, and the New York State Department of Health. We will continue to monitor MPV throughout the upcoming academic year and will provide further updates as needed.
The following University resources contain the most current information on MPV:
- The University Health Service (UHS) website has a dedicated page with helpful links and answers to frequently asked questions. This resource is geared toward students, parents, faculty, and staff University-wide.
- Students, postdocs, and research faculty and staff should follow University guidelines as well as local guidance specific to their research and clinical efforts. Since clinical practice and medical settings often require specific standards, faculty, staff, and students at the Medical Center will find more information on URMC’s Intranet site (login credentials required).
- URMC has created a Monkeypox Informational Page for the community, found at the URMC Newsroom.
As with COVID, we encourage everyone to review the most up-to-date information on MPV and to stay tuned to future University announcements that will be distributed if the status of the virus changes within our community. We will be sending out another campus message in the next few days regarding our COVID policies and guidelines for the fall semester.
Sincerely,
David Figlio
Provost and Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics and Education
Liz Milavec
Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer