To All Duke students, faculty and staff,
The City of Durham has enacted a Stay-at-Home order for all residents and businesses effective Thursday, March 26 at 6:00 pm. This order is consistent with the actions and policies that Duke has undertaken over the past several weeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community and protect our health care workers, hospitals and clinics so they can continue their vital service. We expect to see similar orders from Wake County and other parts of the region in the next several days.
The new Durham Stay-at-Home order supersedes any previous Duke policies and applies to ALL residents of Durham (including students residing on- and off-campus) and ALL faculty and staff employees at Duke facilities in Durham. It provides specific exemptions for health care workers as well others who are supporting critical operations at Duke and elsewhere.
Anyone at Duke who is currently supporting critical operations should continue to report to your designated work location as scheduled. As needs evolve, there are some that may be redeployed to roles that also require you to report to campus. For those that are working remotely, we are redoubling our efforts to ensure that all employees supporting critical services at Duke have the necessary equipment to safeguard your health and well-being.
Individuals who are maintaining critical research laboratory functions may continue to do so provided they observe safety guidelines. However, access to offices and classrooms for the purposes of teaching online classes is no longer permitted. We understand and regret that this may cause a disruption – the Keep Teaching team is working on alternatives and will be communicating directly with faculty.
Students who are currently living in Duke residence halls must remain on campus in their assigned residence hall and assigned room as much as possible, but are permitted to take walks or get exercise on campus grounds (while practicing social distancing and remaining six feet away from others on campus); picking up to-go food orders or visiting the University Store; and attending to urgent medical needs, such as visiting Student Health.
This continues to be a rapidly changing situation and we will update the Duke community as quickly as we can provide verified information. You can also visit https://coronavirus.duke.edu for the latest news and Duke policies.
Thank you to the countless individuals throughout the Duke community who have performed selfless and courageous service to meet the needs of our students, the community and world. We are fortunate to be part of such a strong, committed, caring and passionate community.
Kyle J. Cavanaugh
Vice President for Administration and Emergency Coordinator