Update on the management of our COVID-19 emergency response
- University of Victoria
Message from President Cassels
Dear colleagues,
I am writing to update you on our recent transition from the emergency response management structure to the university’s normal planning and decision-making processes.
In late January this year, in response to the global spread of the COVID-19 virus, I activated the university’s emergency management protocol. Since then, the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), a dedicated team of key university administrative and academic leaders, has been working hard to help us manage all aspects of the pandemic.
BC’s Restart Plan and UVic’s recent decision on fall programming bring us to a new stage in how we are responding to COVID-19. We are now entering a period of “new normal” until at least the end of this calendar year. While we are still a long way from being able to operate under business-as-usual conditions, we have reached a natural transition point where it is appropriate to wind down our emergency response activities.
Ongoing planning, coordination and communications in response to the pandemic will now continue within our regular university processes, governance and reporting structures. This ensures decisions at the university are well-informed, accountable and transparent. If circumstances related to the pandemic change we are able to quickly reactivate the EOC.
Over the past three months the EOC team has astutely and successfully performed their responsibility of planning for and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to express my deep gratitude to the EOC members and the many teams that supported them and undertook challenging and complex work throughout the university in our comprehensive response to the pandemic. I also want to thank all the other members of the campus community who have put in such extra effort to this point.
For more information about the EOC structure and the transition to regular decision-making, view the online article. The university’s COVID-19 website will continue to be regularly updated with information for students, faculty and staff.
Wishing you continued good health and well-being,
Jamie Cassels, QC
President and Vice-Chancellor