Dec. 21, 2020

The provincial government announced today that Ontario will move into a province-wide shutdown effective at 12:01 a.m on December 26^th. The lockdown will be in effect in Northern Ontario for 14 days and for 28 days in Southern Ontario and will be extended if deemed necessary. Residents of Ontario are being asked to stay at home and leave only when necessary for work, groceries, pharmacies and medical appointments.

Although there are impacts on the delivery of services, this lockdown is not like the scenario we found ourselves in March 2020 and Wilfrid Laurier University will focus on these three top priorities:

1. supporting students in starting their winter academic term
2. maintaining research activities where possible
3. keeping residences open for students living on-campus

Protecting the health and safety and creating as much stability as possible for students, faculty and staff is of utmost importance and has been the foundation of our decision-making since the pandemic began.

Effective at 12:01 a.m. December 26^th, the following changes will be in effect:

Private Gatherings: Indoor private gatherings with people outside of a household is prohibited. An individual living alone can gather with another individual in a similar situation. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people. The no-guest policy still applies for residences.

Employees: Only employees working in functions designated as essential will be able to work on campus. The majority of employees will work from home during the lockdown. Employees will receive direction from their managers on any changes to work location during lockdown. Regular or ad-hoc access to private offices will be suspended unless required to support remote teaching or an essential operational need. Human Resources and faculty Dean’s offices will assess and provide further direction.

Course delivery: Remote instruction will continue to be offered primarily virtually and online. All on-campus course delivery planned for January 2021 will continue to be reviewed by the Provost’s office with the Pandemic Recovery Steering Group (PRSG) for compliance with these new restrictions. Details on the impacts to winter in-person courses will be updated on the Instructional Plans for Winter 2021 site.

Research: Research activities will continue within the provincial limits. We are committed to maintaining research functions where allowable.

Study spaces will be closed, and may be reopened in Winter term.

Residence: Students can remain in residence and new students will be permitted to move in. Essential workers will continue to support our residences and the Fresh Food Company (Dining Hall) and Terrace Food Court on the Waterloo campus will be modified to support students with pick-up and take-out options for dining.

Fitness Facilities: All fitness facilities are closed until further notice. Online fitness programs will resume in the winter term.

Campus Amenities:  On-campus flu immunization clinics are suspended. OneCard services will be provided virtually or delivery-only. The Wellness Centres on both of our campuses will provide most appointments virtually and only high priority cases in person. WLU Student Publications and graduation photos with Lifetouch are suspended until further notice.

Library Services: The Library building will not be accessible to the public and all in-person Library services will be suspended, including bookable study spaces. The Bookmobile (Books to Go) service will continue to operate. The following digital and on-demand services and resources will continue to be provided in support of online and remote teaching and learning: virtual reference services – Ask Us, all Library electronic resources and access to HathiTrust ETAS, electronic reserves and online course readings via ARES, scanning-on-demand and digitization services via the OMNI system, scanning of Archival and Special collections, and inter-library loan for digital materials. For updates please check the Library’s COVID-19 page.

Bookstore: All-in person customer service will be suspended. For the winter term, delivery-only service will be utilized for order fulfillment. No non-essential employees will be able to access the bookstore on campus.

Campus tours: in-person campus tours for prospective students are suspended. There are opportunities for future students and their supporters to explore Laurier through wlu.ca/tours.

To help keep everyone safe, please do not come to campus for non-essential needs during this lockdown period. Protocols for wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and washing hands regularly remains. For more information please go to the Coronavirus Information Hub. We will communicate with you early and often as we receive information from public health and the provincial government.

Thank you to all of our students, faculty and staff for the tremendous efforts you have made to keep our campus safe during the fall term.

Dan Dawson,

Chair, Pandemic Recovery Steering Group