April 6/21 – Memo from Lesley Rigg, Vice-President (Research)
There has been a rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases in our community, including on our campus.
To address increasing risks, we are implementing additional restrictions to permitted research activities. We need to be proactive and we need to continue to be rigorous.
Effective April 7, 2021 at 6 p.m., we will pause all face-to-face research with human participants on campus and in field studies for four weeks. We will re-evaluate these restrictions every two weeks by looking for a pattern of reduction in our community caseload.
These changes do not apply to research directly related to COVID-19. Other studies, including those approved over the past few months, may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to assess potential risks and benefits using the two-level approval system currently in place.
At the same time, research personnel are still able to access research spaces under current safety guidelines and to pursue research that does not involve face-to-face interactions with human participants.
As a reminder, members of our community are required to wear three-ply masks and to wear safety glasses if working within two metres of each other. Supervisors may also recommend face shields for additional protection. Occupancy in Western’s research spaces remains at 30 per cent capacity.
Where possible, we encourage you to work from home.
Please direct any questions to your Associate Dean (Research) and/or department delegate. Kevin Shoemaker is also available to assist with any questions on behalf of Western Research.
