Message from President Davenport, Feb. 29, 2020
Dear Campus Community,
The coronavirus (COVID-19) disease outbreak is a rapidly evolving situation that has made national and international news. While at this time the risk of becoming sick with COVID-19 is low, Minnesota State University, Mankato is closely monitoring the developing situation related to COVID-19 and is committed to taking steps necessary to protect the health and safety of our faculty, our staff, and our students.
Out of an abundance of caution, Chancellor Devinder Malhotra has suspended all Minnesota State – related international travel effective immediately. This includes study abroad programs, and any other activities involving faculty, staff and students. We recognize there are a lot of unanswered questions right now and we are working hard as a campus to address these in the near future.
We will continue to monitor reports, guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. State Department and review this action on a recurring basis.
Resources and information that you may find helpful are below:
- We are cooperating with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and are conveying their information and guidance related to COVID-19 to our university. MDH and Minnesota State are working to develop regular communication channels to proactively address school-related topics with regard to COVID-19.
- Information that MDH is making available for schools, colleges and universities is available at https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools.html.
- To date, there have been no positive cases of COVID-19 reported at any Minnesota State college or university or at the system office. At this time, MDH assesses the risk of becoming sick with COVID-19 for people in Minnesota schools, as low, and is not recommending that events or extracurricular activities be cancelled. However, as noted above, international travel has been suspended at all Minnesota State colleges and universities.
- Anyone in the U.S. who has not traveled to China or been in contact with someone confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19 in the last 14 days is at low risk of becoming sick with the virus
- We encourage all students, faculty and staff to:
- Practice respiratory (coughing and sneezing) etiquette and hand hygiene
- Stay at home when sick
Other Informational Resources: There are many sources of information on COVID-19 including state, national and international organizations. Primarily sources for Minnesota State monitoring, planning, and response are:
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH):
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
State Department (DOS):
Sincerely,
Richard Davenport
President
