Email update from the Vice-Chancellor: 21 November

Dear Staff and Students,

You may have heard reference at this morning’s press conference by Premier Stephen Marshall and Professor Nicola Spurrier that SA Health was still seeking to contact some close contacts of a person who tested positive to COVID-19 earlier this week to confirm that these close contacts were in quarantine.  Professor Spurrier referred to some of these contacts as being “students at Flinders University School of English”.  

I would like to clarify that no Flinders University students or staff have tested positive or are being sought as potential contacts relating to the current cluster. It is our understanding that the students being referred to are IELI students. 

The IELI is independent of the University but operates from a building located at our Sturt Campus. We have been advised by SA Health that the person who was a confirmed case did not visit any public areas at the Sturt campus and did not use public transport to get to IELI. However, as advised by Professor Pollock last week and out of an abundance of caution, the university took action to close all buildings at Sturt Campus as soon as the case was notified to us by IELI.  Deep cleaning has been completed for the IELI rooms, as well as shared or common spaces of Sturt Campus.  

Flinders University works closely with SA Health and would assist SA Health with any contact tracing should that necessity arise.

Staff and students can be assured that your safety is our number one priority and that we will continue to act on any SA Health advice we receive and will keep you informed should the need arise for us to take action to ensure the safety of our campuses. 

Stay safe!

Colin