COVID-19 Update on March 9 at 9:41 a.m.

From the Rollins COVID-19 Response Team

The College’s COVID-19 Response Team continued to work through the weekend with College leadership to refine contingency plans and make decisions regarding COVID-19 risk assessment and preparation.

To help protect the health and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff, we are implementing the following, effective immediately:

  • We are cancelling all College-sponsored travel through the end of the semester to areas of high incidence in the U.S. and internationally. Any deposits submitted for College-sponsored travel will be refunded or withdrawal fees will be waived without penalty. 
  • We are prohibiting College-sponsored travel for students, faculty, and staff to any large, professional conferences, since these large gatherings can be places of heightened risk and may serve to spread COVID-19. If you have questions about what constitutes a ‘large gathering,’ please confer with your appropriate dean or supervisor.
  • With Spring Break upon us, we are urging students, faculty, and staff to be cautious and mindful of all personal travel plans, domestic or international. Under no conditions should anyone travel to areas coded by the Center for Disease Control as Level 3, currently China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.

Faculty across campus this week are testing the use of virtual teaching via synchronous WebEx or a WebEx recording from class. While there are many ways to video conference, we request that all virtual meetings utilize WebEx as a single platform in order to provide consistency and simplicity for our entire community. If you have any questions or need help setting up WebEX, please contact the Help Desk at 407-628-6363 or helpdesk@rollins.edu.

We encourage all members of our campus community to not come to campus for classes, work, or meetings if you are sick. If you are sick, seek medical attention, remain home and focus on taking care of yourself. This will help individuals work toward getting better and not spreading any illness. We urge you to please continue to follow CDC prevention guidance and be diligent about hand washing and practicing good hygiene.

This situation can be stressful. We encourage you to take care of and support one another. Global citizenship and responsible leadership are central tenets of the Rollins mission, and the current circumstances require us to treat each other with care, compassion, and inclusivity. Disease can make anyone sick regardless of their race, ethnicity, or country of origin. Help stop fear by being a good bystander. If you hear people commenting or joking, remind them of the facts and let people know that being from any particular country does not increase the chance of getting or spreading COVID-19. Please reach out to the Dean of Students directly if you witness or experience abuse, discrimination, hate or bias-motivated offenses.

Please continue to visit the College’s COVID-19 site for the most up-to-date information and FAQ’s.