From the President

Temporary operational plan starts tomorrow

March 17, 2020

OSU continues to place the highest priority on the health, safety and well-being of the OSU community, while protecting the continuity of academic programs and essential functions.

As we continue to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation, we remain in close contact with the Payne County Health Department and review general guidance from the Centers for Disease Control as we consider appropriate measures to minimize the risks to our students and employees while maintaining our core services.

At this time, we do not have any known instances of an OSU-affiliated person testing positive for COVID-19.

Temporary Telecommuting

Nonetheless, OSU has been preparing for the possibility of reducing the numbers of persons who physically report to work in our effort to reduce the spread of the virus. Effective tomorrow, March 18, at least through April 5, each unit on campus will follow the instructions of its head/supervisor on who should report to campus for work and who should work remotely.

Anyone who is older or has a serious chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes or lung disease should work with HR to discuss options and ensure that their head/supervisor has taken into account their vulnerability.

Protect Your Health

Even if you are scheduled to be physically at work, if you have fever and/or respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath), have had recent international travel, or contact with an individual known to have the novel coronavirus, do not come to work. If you have these symptoms, please contact one of the following:

Oklahoma Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline: 877-215-8336

University Health Services nursing line at 405-744-7665

Consultation with your individual medical provider

It is important to give advanced notice of symptoms to medical facilities before visiting so that decisions can be made that optimize coordination of medical treatment while also protecting the health and safety of healthcare professionals.

Communication is Vital

If you are not coming to work as scheduled, please notify your supervisor immediately that you are not reporting to work so that an alternate can fill in. In these instances sick leave will be applicable. If you do not have sick leave available, you may accrue “negative” sick leave up to 15 days. More specific information will be provided in the FAQ’s.

Although we have the advantage for the next several days of very few students on campus, with online classes beginning Monday, and the probable return of a fair number of students, we will have to give careful consideration to providing necessary services while minimizing risks.

These are difficult times and we want the Cowboy community to be safe and informed. If you have questions, please submit them to covid19@okstate.edu. We will provide an answer as quickly as reasonably possible. You may also find answers to frequently asked questions at go.okstate.edu/coronavirus/faq.

We will continue to communicate with you regularly. We appreciate everyone’s flexibility during this unprecedented time. Working together with a single purpose to do our part to help begin flattening the curve, we can navigate through this public health crisis successfully.

Please refer to the CDC website for updated information. Thank you for your cooperation and support as we move forward together.