Protect the ‘Necks Plan Continues

Dear University Community,

As we have reached the mid-point of the Spring 2021 semester, I want to thank you for following the health and safety protocols we have in place to help flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19. It is because of your cooperation, patience, and understanding that we have been fortunate to keep the number of positive cases on our campuses relatively low this semester.

While things are looking better now that more and more people get vaccinated every day, we are still in the midst of a pandemic. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you of the plans and protocols we have in place that we must follow for our own health, as well as for the welfare of our family members and friends.

Our Protect the ‘Necks Plan remains active. The basic principles behind this plan include wearing a face covering both indoors and outdoors on our campuses; restricting gatherings to 50 and under; social distancing whenever possible; washing/disinfecting your hands (and surfaces) frequently; and completing the required daily self-check. In addition, on March 15, we began offering the SHIELD Illinois saliva-based COVID-19 test, which has been developed by the University of Illinois. We are continuing to conduct surveillance testing to ensure the health and safety of our campus communities. If you receive an email, please do your part and take the time to do this very easy, non-invasive COVID test.

We are beginning to plan for the Fall 2021 semester and determine the protocols and guidelines that will remain in place following the summer break. It is our hope that many more members of our University community will be able to receive the vaccine this summer.

In the meantime, we must continue to follow our current plans, including travel restrictions. All Study Abroad programs remain on hold until further notice. All University-affiliated travel is restricted until further notice; however, faculty, staff, and students who have an essential reason to travel on behalf of the University can request permission by completing a waiver form. Other travel information included in the temporary COVID-19 travel policy can be found here. While personal automobile travel, along with public transportation, such as ride shares and trains, are not restricted, we do ask that individuals who are traveling domestically by airplane to quarantine for a period of seven (7) days upon return and to get tested three to five (3-5) days following travel. Those traveling internationally should quarantine for a period of 10 days. If a test is not completed, individuals should stay home for a period of 10 days following air travel.

Please continue to visit wiu.edu/coronavirus for updates. We will communicate Fall 2021 plans as soon as possible during the summer months. Again, thank you for your cooperation during this pandemic and for doing your part to ensure that our Western Illinois University community remains safe. Let’s finish the Spring 2021 semester Leatherneck strong.

Thank you.

Guiyou Huang
President
Western Illinois University