--- Date: Mon, 5 May 2003 10:34:49 -0700 (PDT) From: Joseph Lorenzo Hall <jhallat_private> To: Dave Farber <daveat_private>, Declan McCullagh <declanat_private> Subject: SARS policy at UC Berkeley... Declan and Dave, This, in itself, is probably not politech- or IP-worthy but I thought you two should get a heads up. It turns out that UC Berkeley will not allow any students from SARS affected countries to attend summer school... it seems that it has to do with liability. That is, if they were to allow a student to come who later turned out to be infected with SARS, an "elaborate isolation procedure" would have to be initiated... and the University doesn't have the resources for this. Here is the direct quote (full bulletin attached below): --- **Summer Session Students Arriving from Universities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's Republic of China and Singapore (see footnote): After close consultation with several public health officials and campus experts, and based on the strong recommendation of the City of Berkeley Health Officer, I deeply regret that we will not be accepting enrollments of students from these areas. We look forward to the lifting of the CDC travel advisories so that we can once again welcome all of these students to our campus. Several hundred students will be affected by this decision. Their fees will be fully refunded. Our reasoning for this decision is as follows. All of these students would have to be monitored for a ten-day period. Should any of them develop SARS related symptoms, the CDC requires that elaborate procedures be implemented that would include isolation and other labor intensive measures that we are not able to provide currently. If the CDC lifts the travel advisories to these areas, then this policy would no longer be in force. --- This seems to not be the full story as tourists and such from affected countries are not denied entry into the Bay Area... specifically, the University seems to not even want to take a chance on plausible alternatives such as requiring the students to come to the US ten days early and stay in a hotel (instead of the dorms). Further, some are thinking that this may even violate California's Propostion 209 which reads (in part): SEC. 31. (a) The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. take care, Joe ------------------------------------------------------------------ Joseph Lorenzo Hall jhallat_private Graduate Student astron.berkeley.edu/~jhall Astronomy Department 601 Campbell Hall voice: (510) 643-8592 University of California at Berkeley fax : (510) 642-3411 Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 face : 753B Campbell "The human population does not double every 18 months, but its ability to use computers to keep track of us does. You can't encrypt your face." -- Phil Zimmermann; http://news.com.com/2100-1009-998728.html From: Robert M. Berdahl, Chancellor [mailto:calmailsupportat_private] Sent: Friday, May 02, 2003 6:00 PM To: Academic Senate Faculty, All Academic Titles, Emeriti, Staff, Other Members of the Campus : Subject: SARS Policy - Read Carefully -------- To Members of the Berkeley Campus Community: The SARS task force has continued to meet and advise me on SARS related matters affecting the campus. As a result, I am now issuing updated policies and procedures. Please read this carefully and share it broadly. SARS CDC Definition Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is an acute respiratory infection that has recently been reported in Asia, North America, and Europe. Signs and symptoms include: ** fever (100.4 F/38 C or higher) ** respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing ** AND travel (including transit in an airport) within 10 days of onset of symptoms to an area with current or recently documented or suspected community transmission of SARS (People's Republic of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Singapore; Taiwan; and Toronto, Canada. Hanoi, Vietnam is an area with recently documented or suspected community transmission of SARS) **OR close contact within 10 days of onset of symptoms with a person known or suspected to have SARS infection. ******If you have these symptoms and have traveled to these identified countries, or had close contact with a suspected SARS case, you should immediately contact your physician and contact University Health Services (642-1814). Please call your physician or University Health Services first and indicate that you may have SARS related symptoms and you will be instructed about next steps. Please keep University Health Services and your immediate supervisor informed of your condition and the steps you are taking to address it. You cannot come to work or attend classes without medical clearance from your physician or the University Health Service. ****** **Faculty, Staff and Student Travel to Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's Republic of China and Singapore: I have already recommended in my April 17 memorandum to Deans, Directors and Department Chairs that all non-essential travel to the above areas be postponed as a result of CDC advisories. This continues to be my strong recommendation. The use of University funds for travel to these affected regions is prohibited unless the travel is deemed essential by your Vice Chancellor. The CDC includes in its definition of travel individuals on connecting flights into airports in the affected regions. **Summer Session Students Arriving from Universities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's Republic of China and Singapore (see footnote): After close consultation with several public health officials and campus experts, and based on the strong recommendation of the City of Berkeley Health Officer, I deeply regret that we will not be accepting enrollments of students from these areas. We look forward to the lifting of the CDC travel advisories so that we can once again welcome all of these students to our campus. Several hundred students will be affected by this decision. Their fees will be fully refunded. Our reasoning for this decision is as follows. All of these students would have to be monitored for a ten-day period. Should any of them develop SARS related symptoms, the CDC requires that elaborate procedures be implemented that would include isolation and other labor intensive measures that we are not able to provide currently. If the CDC lifts the travel advisories to these areas, then this policy would no longer be in force. **Currently Enrolled Students whose Country of Legal Permanent Residence is in Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's Republic of China and Singapore; and Newly Admitted Students for the Fall Semester from Those Areas: This group includes several hundred students. We anticipate that some currently enrolled students from those areas may return home for the summer. We will be contacting them and newly admitted students to provide them with specific health care information dealing with their arrival to campus in the Fall. They will be required to fill out a detailed questionnaire on the state of their health and they will be monitored by University Health Services for a ten-day period. The exact details of this program are being worked out. The Residential and Student Services Program has developed a protocol to deal with any student who may develop SARS related symptoms. This protocol has been reviewed by public health officials and other members of the SARS task force. **Campus Sponsored Visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's Republic of China and Singapore: A number of campus units host individuals and delegations from other countries. There is such significant variation in these visits (length of stay, purpose, length of time in the United States, etc.) that it is not feasible to develop a blanket policy. In general, I am asking the campus sponsors of these visits to weigh carefully how essential the visits are and whether they could be postponed until the CDC travel advisories are lifted. It is incumbent upon the sponsor to notify University Health Services (642-1814) of all visits in this category well in advance of the visitors' arrival. Depending on the circumstances, certain visits may need higher level administrative review before proceeding. All visitors from SARS affected regions will receive the same information and attention as faculty, staff and students arriving from those areas. I wish to emphasize that our policies and procedures are based on CDC guidelines and our consultation with campus experts and State and local public health officials. The CDC guidelines are subject to change at any time as are these policies. I would urge you to check the CDC web page regularly (http://www.cdc.gov.) for the most up to date information on all matters related to SARS. I will continue to keep you informed as well. As this is a quickly changing situation, the best source for up-to-date information on campus policy and actions is the UC Berkeley NewsCenter web site at http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/ The NewsCenter page will highlight important new developments as they arise. In addition, the NewsCenter provides a standing link to an archive of SARS-related campus communications, background with campus experts and links to the CDC and other official sites. For further information or clarification of these policies, please contact Associate Chancellor John Cummins (642-7516, jcumminsat_private). For further information on health matters related to SARS, please contact Pamela Cameron at the University Health Service (642-1814, pcameronat_private). Robert M. Berdahl Chancellor footnote - The CDC has issued Travel Advisories for the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, advising against non-essential travel. Logically, these are the areas we are most concerned about, for travel both to and from. -The CDC has issued Travel Alerts for Hanoi and Toronto. These do not involve advice against travel. UC is less concerned (in this policy) about travel from these areas. -However, for the purposes of assessment, surveillance, and reporting, the CDC Case Definition defines travel as "Travel (including transit in an airport) within 10 days of onset of symptoms to an area with current or recently documented or suspected community transmission of SARS" and goes on in a footnote to name the People's Republic of CHINA, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, TAIWAN, TORONTO (all current transmission) and HANOI (recent). In other words, areas on both the advisory and the alert lists are of concern. We will identify individuals from Toronto and Hanoi and provide information to them as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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