Update on research activities

On Feb 17 the following email was sent to Waterloo graduate students

To: Graduate students

From: Charmaine B. Dean, Vice-President, Research & International and Jeffrey Casello, Associate-Vice President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2021

Subject: Update on research activities

As a follow up to the Resuming limited campus operations in provincial COVID-19 Red zone memo that you received yesterday, we are writing to provide an update on graduate student research activities at the University.

If your research takes place in an on-campus laboratory with an approved safety plan, those research activities can continue.

If your research involves field work with an approved plan, that research may resume.  Field work that requires international or out of province travel requires special approvals.

If your research involves human participation, including face to face activities, and those activities have both research ethics approval and an approved safety plan, those activities may resume.

If your research work requires access to campus facilities other than research laboratories, you should check with your supervisor to learn what is possible in your Faculty.

The University is asking researchers to concentrate their on-campus research to normal business hours – from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., but access with an approved plan that includes relevant procedures (ex. after hours cleaning, work alone procedures) can take place outside of these core hours.  

As always, we encourage you to speak with your supervisor about your research and the processes to resume your activities safely and with approval.  Yesterday, Waterloo faculty researchers received a comprehensive memo updating them on resumption of research activity now that Waterloo region is in the Red zone, so your supervisors should be well positioned to answer your specific questions.  We also encourage you to read the full memo on the central COVID page.

The health and wellbeing of our university community, and continued reopening of our campus, depends on each of us taking safety precautions not only in the lab but in our day-to-day activities. Thank you for continuing to follow public health protocols to keep yourself and others safe.