Classes cancelled temporarily at the U of C in light of new provincial restrictions
By Cristina Paolozzi, September 15 2021—
On Sept. 15, Premier Jason Kenney announced new COVID-19 restrictions amidst rising cases across the province. In an email to the campus community, the University of Calgary announced it would cancel all in-person classes from Thursday Sept. 16 to Sunday Sept. 19 in light of these new restrictions.
The email states that in follow-up communications between the university and the province, U of C was informed that all post-secondary institutions should implement 2-meter physical distancing in all indoor spaces.
The email also states it will follow up on the status of future classes over the next few days. Online classes and the online portion of blended classes will continue as scheduled. Research operations can remain open with 2-meter distancing and masking, and staff will continue to work from home.
The new restrictions outline by the provincial government for workplaces, indoor private gatherings, places of worship, schools and children’s activities, mandatory masking and physical distancing in all indoor public spaces will begin Sept. 16.
Restrictions for restaurants, indoor gatherings, weddings and funerals, retail, entertainment venues and indoor sport and fitness will begin Sept. 20.
The province has also announced the implementation of the Restrictions Exemptions Program. This program, which will begin on Sept. 20, will see vaccine-eligible individuals required to provide proof of immunization or proof of a negative COVID test result that has been privately paid for within the past 72 hours.
Either of these will be required to access a number of different activities and services including restaurants, bars and indoor social events.
On Sept. 13, a decision was made by the U of C and eight other post-secondary institutions in Alberta that by Jan. 1, 2022, students, faculty and staff are expected to be fully vaccinated or have an authorized exemption to vaccination.
The university encourages students to complete their COVIDSafe Campus requirements and complete the requirements to comply with university and provincial health guidelines. The university also said it will be evaluating the program to determine what needs to be adjusted to align with updated government mandates.
“The University of Calgary is a highly vaccinated environment. Thanks to our COVIDSafe Campus program, 37,103 members of our campus community have already taken important steps to being on campus,” read the email.
The COVIDSafe Campus program has recorded that 91.3 per cent of the campus community is fully vaccinated.
For more information on the U of C’s COVID-19 risk response, head to their website. For more information on the full list of restrictions, visit the Alberta government website.