Updated Pandemic Response to Infected NTU Employees and Recent Nationwide Surge in COVID-19 Cases

We received notifications during the extended Tomb Sweeping holidays and again on April 6 that two employees at the University’s Undergraduate Academic Affairs Division (UAAD, Office of Academic Affairs) were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19. After conducting investigations into these two incidents and tracing the staff members’ contact histories, we have been able to determine that each individual was infected during the holidays away from the NTU campus, and our preliminary conclusion is that their respective infections are unrelated. However, as one of the infected staff members came to work on April 6, we have immediately taken appropriate measures as follows:

1. The UAAD staff members with confirmed COVID-19 infections are now being treated in isolation at local hospitals, and before they can return to work they must undergo self-health management for 7 days after being discharged from the hospital.
2. All other UAAD employees are now working from home. All of them have since been tested negative on PCR tests.
3. The UAAD office and its surroundings are now being disinfected.

Additional measures are as follows:

1. We have released information about the following location where the infected staff members visited before their diagnoses: 8:00 AM – 12:00 noon, Wednesday, April 6, UAAD office at the First Administration Building. The University has identified the list of faculty, staff and students who entered the Administration Building on April 6 from the keycard access system, and we will be asking each person, via email, to pick up a rapid COVID-19 home test kits from the Student Safety Center (Office of Student Affairs) and to carry out the tests as a precautionary step. Students who are concerned about the possibility of contracting the disease should inform their course instructors, who will then determine whether to have adequately segregated or separate locations for exams, or to conduct the classes remotely going forward.
2. All meetings at the University level will now be held online.
3. Strict access control will now be implemented at all University premises, and temperatures will be taken at the entrances. Real-name swipe-in entry control developed by the Computer and Information Networking Center will also be instituted. Those without a University ID card may enter the premises by filling out their personal information on the registration sheet.
4. All members of the NTU community are advised to maintain a high level of alert and adjust the way classes, work and campus activities are conducted according to the evolving epidemic situation.

Please be reminded that it is prudent to avoid person-to-person contact, to wear a mask at all times when you go out, wash your hands frequently, and be on alert for suspected symptoms: fever, respiratory complications, diarrhea, or loss of smell or taste. If any one of these symptoms develops, please wear a medical mask and seek medical attention immediately at a nearby hospital for COVID-19 testing and refrain from using any public transportation. When in the hospital for treatment, please inform the physician of your contact and travel history, potential occupational exposure to the virus, as well as anyone around you with similar symptoms. When you return home, please continue to wear a medical mask and avoid making any unnecessary trips.