University asks campus community to social distance

In light of the elevated travel warning status of the entire nation, especially within the Chicago area, we are asking that everyone in the campus community practice enhanced precautions, including monitoring your health regularly and social distancing. Social distancing means avoiding group gatherings and maintaining a distance of six feet from others as much as possible. If you experience any flu-like symptoms, please follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 protocol.

Massmail: Confirmed COVID-19 case in local community, no known university affiliation or connection

Announced in a massmail on March 15, 2020:

As of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15, 2020, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) has announced there is a confirmed case of the COVID-19 disease in Champaign County. The individual is not a student, staff or faculty member. CUPHD has traced the recent activities of the individual and does not believe there is any link to being in a university facility or attending a university event. The individual is in self-quarantine under the supervision of CUPHD and those who may have been exposed have been contacted.

CUPHD tells us the risk of transmission for the general community is considered to be low from this case. However, they have also said there are at least 50 additional tests pending and they expect to see more cases confirmed in the coming days.

If we learn of new information about the outbreak that would have more direct impact on our students, faculty, staff or operations, we will share this as soon as we can.

The full massmail from Chancellor Robert Jones and Provost Andreas Cangellaris is available online.

University Library reduced hours and limited location

The Undergraduate Library will close at 5 p.m. on March 13 and remain closed until further notice. All other campus libraries are open through March 20.

After March 20, all campus libraries will be closed, with the exception of a portion of the Main Library, which will have reduced hours. Many resources and services are available online. View updated information on the University Library website.

Transition to alternative course delivery for instructors

Andreas Cangellaris, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, sent a new message to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty and teaching assistants providing important details about the transition to alternative course delivery and available support resources.

You can view the full message online.

Attendance restrictions for athletic events

UPDATE: At 11:45 am on March 12, The Big Ten announced that they are canceling the remainder of The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Following announcements by the NCAA and The Big Ten, the University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics announced that attendance restrictions will be in effect for all Big Ten and non-conference athletic events on the Illinois campus for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. These restrictions limit game attendance to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media and immediate family members of the participating teams.

The full statement from the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics is available on fightingillini.com.