This update is provided for archival purposes only.
Public Health guidance and University of Waterloo operations may have changed. For the most up-to-date information, please visit our COVID-19 frequently asked questions.
The Office of Research and the Safety Office are actively implementing a phased approach to restarting research on campus. Previously, researchers could request access to continue on-campus research if the research was deemed critical or related to COVID-19. Phase 2 of the Research Restart plan expands criteria for on-campus research activities for those that cannot conduct research remotely or require access to labs or specialized facilities.
We have approved some researchers to proceed with their work on-campus as part of our phased return to campus plan. To ensure that we welcome you back to campus safely, we have increased sanitization of high touch surface areas and are offering additional supplies to help you stay healthy.
In accordance to Public Health guidance, we recommend that you continue to practice physical distancing, but have cloth face masks available for researchers to use on-campus where maintaining a physical distance of two meters is challenging.
For several weeks, teams in every Faculty have been working to plan in detail what their approach to the fall term will be. With change happening so quickly, I want to let you know more details about our plans for the fall term.
We are sharing these details with incoming and continuing students today so they can plan for September with confidence.
The Central Planning Group of the Integrated Co-coordination and Planning Committee, including the President, Vice-Presidents and Deans, has been active in developing a phased plan for restarting research on campus, with support from the Research Restart Working Group.
Last week, the Province opened the door for institutions to begin to implement phased returns to on-campus research activity by announcing that professional services related to conducting research and experimental development may begin to resume activity. This announcement has moved us into the first Phase of our planned return and as such, we will be expanding the criteria for permission to access to campus to conduct research activities.
