Does the university have a COVID-19 Response Team?
Since the start of the pandemic, members of the UMaine and UMaine Machias communities have been working to effectively reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission and plan for containment should an outbreak occur.
Reduction strategies range from issuing hand sanitizer to developing high-level safety zones and operating protocols for our research facilities. These collaborative efforts are being guided by subject matter experts from various advisory groups, including the UMS Science Advisory Board, the Emergency Operations Center, the Research Continuity Task Force and many others. Each of these entities are screening practices developed throughout the COVID-19 response space and applying the lessons learned to best fit the University of Maine.
The same methodology has been extended to the next phase of managing the university’s response to the COVID crisis. A COVID Response Team has been established with the Emergency Operations structure to manage a COVID-19- related event. If a person within our community has been identified as being COVID-19 compromised, the team will focus the needed resources to protect that person and those they may have been in contact with.
Multiple data sources will be monitored on University of Maine System and campus levels to maintain an awareness regarding the COVID-19 threat. That awareness will be communicated to the President’s Office. Any campuswide response will be made at the executive level and will be measured in accordance with the level of threat. For example, face-to-face classes could be cancelled for a short period of time; if campus depopulation of the residence halls is necessary, research facilities may stay open.