Email update from the Vice-Chancellor: 19 November

Dear Colleagues

I trust that you are all safe and well at home under this very strict six-day lockdown.

Our South Australian campuses will be closed until we are advised that it is safe for them to be re-opened. However, there are a small number of staff who will attend campus during the lockdown in order to maintain essential functions, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of those individuals for their hard work and dedication.

However, it is important to note that while our campuses may be closed, the University will remain functionally ‘open’ as staff work from home to continue to deliver/support important research and educational activities. 

It is vital that we remain ‘open-for-business’ as this is a busy time of year. Moreover, in recent months we have shown that by working together we have been able to build towards a successful conclusion of 2020 and a strong start for 2021. It is crucial that we maintain this momentum so that we can ensure that we emerge from the pandemic in the strongest possible position.

A university has many complex moving parts and you may have questions relating to your own duties etc. Please note that the speed with which the lockdown was imposed means that we have not yet been able to address every issue it has raised. Thank you for your patience as we work through these matters and please be advised that we will endeavour to provide daily updates as the situation progresses, so please keep an eye on your email.

You may be interested to hear that the Senior Executive Team had a briefing today from Professor Jonathan Craig, Vice-President and Executive Dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health, on the epidemiology of the novel coronavirus and how it relates to the current Adelaide cluster.  We agreed that it might be of some interest to staff more broadly and so will arrange for a staff webinar in the coming days (details to follow).

While we may all be in physical isolation please make every effort to remain socially connected by reaching out to family, friends and colleagues.  Indeed, if you know someone who will be on their own during lockdown then why not get in touch, just to let them know you’re thinking of them.

While we are currently facing a six-day lockdown, we can expect some restrictions to continue for at least another eight days thereafter. The fact that there have been no new cases identified overnight is a hopeful sign, but the nature of this pandemic means that we must be ready to accept some uncertainties over the coming weeks and months.

Meanwhile, thank you all for your continued dedication and commitment. Please stay safe and take good care of yourselves and your loved ones over the coming days and weeks.

Best wishes

Colin