Virtual Town Hall with Dr. Bonnie Henry for post-secondary student leaders
On May 28, the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training hosted a second Town Hall to discuss the preliminary public health guidance for September 2021 provided in the COVID-19 Return-to-Campus Primer. Participants at the town hall, hosted by Thompson Rivers University, included representatives from the Office of the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) and post-secondary student leaders from across the province.
View a recording of the May 28 town hall
On April 30, the COVID-19 Return-to-Campus Primer was released to provide interim guidance to help BC’s post-secondary institutions plan for a full return to on-campus teaching, learning and research in September 2021.
Topics discussed
Below is an outline of the questions addressed in the call along with hyperlinked time stamps to when each was addressed.
Controls
- Will all students and staff wear mask on the campus? 15:49
- What sort of welcome back, club, and social activities are student societies allowed to do on campus? 19:52
- Some classes can have over 300 students in classes & spaces. How can they be safe when students won't necessarily have both vaccine doses? 24:39
Accommodations
- What tools and messaging can student societies use to make students feel more comfortable about moving away from restrictions like mask wearing? 28:14
- What forms of guidelines will be implemented for professors or instructors for international, immunocompromised students who are unable to return to campus? 33:02
Vaccines
- Students, faculty members, and staff are encouraged to get a vaccine but how can we manage since there are some who still refuse to receive one? 35:43
- How will you ensure that the vaccine distribution process is equitable and ensure that pop-up vaccination sites are effectively communicated? 39:40
- Comment on vaccine passports. 48:25
- Comment on vaccine records for international students and those coming from out of province. 49:53
International students
- What if the student (international students) gets the first vaccine dose in his/her home country. Will they get the second one here? 42:32
- What if the students are vaccinated with the vaccine which is not authorized here like Covaxin or Sputnik? 43:46
- What preparations are you making for international students for a safe and accessible return to campus? 45:40