Communications & Updates

Cardinal Community, 

In this first week of summer term, we want to wish everyone well and touch base about the university’s continued COVID-19 response.  

With increased transmission activity of COVID-19 in our area, we want to remind you to monitor yourself regularly for signs of sickness. Wash or sanitize your hands frequently. If you feel sick or experience symptoms of COVID-19, stay home and get tested. Our current COVID-19 health and safety protocols remain in effect. On May 4, the university transitioned to mask optional in all indoor spaces except clinical spaces.  We have learned to live with the pandemic by exercising caution during seasonal upticks and we will continue to monitor the situation. 

Students and faculty who become ill or experience COVID-19 symptoms should follow the continuity of learning and continuity of instruction plans as outlined in their course syllabi. The Faculty tab and Student tab on the COVID-19 website have more information. Staff who become ill or experience COVID-19 symptoms should contact their supervisor. 

If you wish to get tested on campus, contact Campus Health. The university has ordered more KN95 masks for Cardinals who would like an additional one. Starting next week, the SAC Welcome Desk on the Belknap campus will have a limited supply of masks available for pick-up. Units on both HSC and Belknap campuses can order a specific number of desired KN95 masks directly from Central Receiving as long as supply lasts. For questions about the university’s COVID-19 response, contact the Business Operations COVID Support Team.

Cardinal Community, 

As the semester comes to an end, we think back over the last two years and the challenges we have faced as a university community. We marvel at the way Cardinals have come together to adapt to the constantly changing realities of the pandemic.

We continue to monitor the situation closely and encourage everyone to be vigilant against the spread of COVID. With this in mind, on May 4 the university will transition tomask optional in all spaces except those clinical areas that still require masking. TARC recently announced that masks also are no longer required on their buses.

Please keep in mind that this will be a difficult transition for some in our community, and we ask all Cardinals to be respectful of each other. 

Also, with the reduced testing requirements, we have consolidated campus testing sites. Bluewater Laboratories’ mass testing sites have closed, but Campus Health will continue to provide testing to those who are symptomatic or have been exposed.

Thank you for your continued support of each other and the UofL community during the pandemic. We wish you all the best as you close out the spring semester and hope you have a wonderful summer. 

Cardinal Community, 

It is exciting that Spring Break is already upon us. Warmer weather is on its way and finals and commencement will soon follow. We are also seeing significant reductions in the spread of COVID-19 in our campus community and the surrounding areas.  

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has provided new guidance recommending masking in indoor public spaces only in areas determined to be at elevated risk of transmission. Jefferson County’s risk of transmission levels have been steadily declining, and today our area’s transmission level went from medium to low risk. In accordance with the new CDC guidelines and after consulting student, faculty, and staff constituent groups, we are modifying our mask requirement. 

Starting March 14, 2022, masking will only be required in classrooms and clinical areas.  In all other areas, masks will be optional. Here are additional things to note about the mask requirement modification: 

• Masks are still required when riding campus shuttles due to TARC’s continued mask requirement. 

• Units that operate patient care activities may determine how to make their policies consistent with health agency recommendations.  

• The university still encourages individuals with health concerns to consider wearing masks while indoors.   

• The university will continue to monitor CDC guidance and may have to make more changes to masking or take other measures if circumstances change.  

Beginning April 1, 2022, the university will also no longer require testing of unvaccinated individuals as asymptomatic testing has now shown to have little to no effect on the spread of COVID-19. If you feel ill, stay home and get tested.

Cardinal Community, 

We are encouraged by what we are seeing on campus and in surrounding areas regarding the Omicron variant. Since the start of the semester, our number of positive cases on campus has decreased by over 70%. The number of positive cases in Jefferson County continues to trend downward. Due in large part to high vaccination rates and our campus community’s continued commitment to health and safety protocols, our positivity rate of 18% remains below the commonwealth’s rate of 23%, which also is trending downward. 

Data continues to show that vaccinations and boosters drastically reduce the likelihood of severe illness or death due to COVID-19. Our Campus Health team will continue to offer vaccinations and boosters at both the HSC and Belknap Campus. Visit the Get Vaccinated section of the university’s COVID-19 website for dates, times and scheduling instructions. 

Finally, the federal government has made available at-home tests for COVID-19. While at-home tests can be useful tools in determining if you have been exposed to COVID-19, results should always be confirmed with a testing provider (i.e., Walgreens, CVS, Campus Health, Bluewater Lab, etc.). Tests can be ordered at covidtests.gov. Faculty and staff can review the university HR website for more information: https://louisville.edu/hr/covid-19-hr/covid-19-home-testing-kits.

Dear Cardinal Faculty and Staff,

After discussions with Faculty and Staff Senate leadership, we want to clarify the university’s position on flexible scheduling. Since the beginning of our COVID-19 response, we have asked faculty and staff to be flexible with students who are complying with our health and safety protocols by staying home when experiencing symptoms, in quarantine or in isolation.  

Faculty and staff also have flexible instruction and work options when following COVID-19 protocols. Faculty may utilize their continuity of instruction plans (such as temporarily shifting to online instruction) and staff can utilize remote work options as agreed upon with their supervisor. 

The guidelines and policy mentioned below are in place to support our faculty and staff while still offering the highest level of instruction and service to our students. They are meant to be short-term solutions, and do not suggest that faculty may switch modes of course delivery for the entire semester. 

The Emergency Temporary Leave Guidelines have been updated to reflect current circumstances. Please refer to those guidelines and the policy on flexible scheduling to understand the flexible options available to all university employees.

Cardinal Community,

As we enter the spring semester together, we understand the mixed feelings students, faculty and staff are experiencing and want to be clear about the university’s plan for addressing the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

After careful, ongoing review and significant discussion of the issues Omicron presents, we plan to continue in-person instruction and normal business operations this semester. The reasons for this include:

• More than 91 percent of our students, faculty and staff have been vaccinated (the vast majority being fully vaccinated). Many have also received their booster shot, and we are working to gain access to those numbers. 
• The risk of severe illness to fully vaccinated individuals from contracting COVID remains very low (and even lower to boosted individuals). Research shows that the Omicron variant causes less severe disease than previous variants.
• Academic performance and mental well-being were negatively impacted when we moved to remote delivery in the past. In-person instruction has proven to be more effective for students and safe for faculty and students alike when health protocols are followed. (An Indiana University study has shown that COVID transmission was lower when students took more in-person classes, and the CDC has compiled other studies that support this finding.)

Cardinal Community, 

We hope you had a restful and fulfilling winter break. As we gear up for the spring semester, we want you to know the university remains committed to conducting in-person instruction. We will keep our current health and safety protocols in place, and we will continue monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and hospitalization rates. For our new and returning Cardinals, please remember the following key aspects of our COVID-19 response: 

• Masks are still required in public, indoor settings on campus. The university will be providing up to two masks (KN95/N95 or equivalent) to all Cardinals who would like to have them. Masks will be made available in high-traffic areas around campus by Monday, Jan. 10.  More information will soon follow.  

• Regular testing is still mandatory for unvaccinated Cardinals. The next required testing period begins Jan. 10. Click here to schedule a testing appointment. Anyone who would like to get tested, not just those who are required to do so, may make an appointment. 

• Quarantine and isolation protocols are required when Cardinals are exposed or test positive for COVID-19. We have implemented the CDC’s newly published guidelines that shortened the number of days required for quarantine and isolation depending on vaccination type and booster status. The updated protocols can be found here. 

• Booster and vaccination clinics will continue to be offered by Campus Health. Click here for time and location details. 

• For questions and concerns about the university’s COVID-19 response, review the FAQs on the COVID-19 website or contact the Business Operations COVID-19 Support Team.