COVID-19: Updates for students

By
Caitlin Dutt
-
(Caitlin Dutt/AQ)

The below updates are meant to supply quick information to students and the Fredericton community on the evolving COVID-19 situation.

If you have questions, you can read STU’s FAQ at www.STU.ca/covid19FAQ. You can also continue to send your questions to [email protected].

April 3 updates

The Government of New Brunswick announced the Emergency Bridging Fund for Vulnerable Post-Secondary Students for students affected by COVID-19. Students will have to reach out to their university to apply for the funding. A one-time amount of up to $750 is available.

  • Find out if you are eligible here: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/petl-epft/PDF/SFS/emergency_bridging_fund-e.pdf

New Brunswick now has 95 cases of COVID-19. Canada has 12,537 cases, according to the Government of Canada’s website. According to

April 2 updates

St. Thomas University senate approves a pass/fail option for winter semester courses.

  • Full story can be found here: http://theaquinian.netupdated-stu-senate-pass-pass-fail-option-for-courses-this-semester/

There are more than one million cases of COVID-19 in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.

March 26 updates

New Brunswick now has 33 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

March 23 updates

Spring convocation has been postponed until a later unspecified date.

There are 17 confirmed cases in New Brunswick and no new cases. As of March 23, 11 a.m., there are 1,432 confirmed cases in Canada.

March 20 updates

The number of COVID-19 cases in Canada surpasses 1,000.

March 19 updates

The provincial government has declared a state of emergency in New Brunswick.

Here are the closures as a result:

  • All lounges and special facilities licensed under the Liquor Control Act;
  • Swimming pools, spas, saunas;
  • Waterparks, gymnasiums, yoga studios, dance studios, rinks and arenas;
  • Tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields, climbing walls, escape rooms, ski hills, golf courses, arcades, amusement centres, pool halls, bowling alleys;
  • Casinos,
  • Cinemas,
  • Libraries,
  • Museums,
  • Zoos and aquariums,
  • Barbers, hair stylists and esthetics service providers,
  • Sugar bush operations;
  • Theatres and other live performance venues;
  • All food and beverage businesses will only offer take-out and delivery service.
  • Schools, colleges, universities and private schools must be closed to students. Residences will remain open for those who need it and educational institutions can continue courses online.

 

Grocery stores, pharmacies, repair garages, post offices, financial and lending institutions, retailers of fuel, hardware and automotive parts, convenience stores, animal and fish feed providers and NB Liquor and Cannabis NB will remain open.

In addition, “owners and operators of all other premises at which people may gather in large numbers will take all reasonable steps to prevent gatherings of more than 10 people.”

New Brunswick licences, registrations, certificates and permits will remain valid until May 31, 2020, unless they have been suspended by a court or by another authority under an Act of the Province.

In addition, until May 31, 2020, landlords will be unable to evict tenants if they don’t pay their rent.

UNB COVID-19 case appears in Bailey Hall

Members of UNB’s biology department have been alerted they might have come into contact with one of the two presumptive cases of COVID-19 on the UNB Fredericton campus, as first reported by CBC.

If you were in the University of New Brunswick’s Bailey Hall in room 22 between 9:30 a.m. and 10:20 a.m., or in Bailey Hall room 102 between 10:30 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. on March 11, you may have been exposed to the coronavirus, said biology department chair Dion Durnford.

On March 16, two cases of presumptive coronavirus were connected to the UNB Fredericton campus community, in an email from UNB president Paul Mazerolle.

A study funded by the US National Institute of Health states COVID-19 can live for up to 72 hours on stainless steel and plastic, can live for up to four hours on copper and 24 hours on cardboard. It survived on aerosols, which can be dust, fog and even smoke, for the duration of the three-hour experiment.

They also said more research was needed.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the primary way COVID-19 spreads is through coughing or sneezing, or between people who are less than six feet apart from each other.

It is unclear where, or if, the second presumptive case had travelled on UNB’s Fredericton campus before they self-quarantined.

March 18 updates

St. Thomas University course registration, which was supposed to start on March 20, will be postponed until a later unspecified date.

Three new presumptive COVID-19 cases were announced. There are now nine presumptive COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick and two confirmed.

March 17 updates

Several updates were sent in an email to STU students on March 17, including the update that online courses will be delayed until Monday, March 23.

STU has also set up pages on the STU website for remote access as STU empties its on-campus offices.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Classes are delayed until March 23 to allow “for residence students who are able to move out of their residence, professors to restructure their courses, and our move to an essential services staffing model on campus,” said the email. In an update sent yesterday, students living in residence were asked to “return home if they are able.” The residence system and food services will continue to operate for those who cannot go home.
  • The Harriet Irving Library at the University of New Brunswick is moving to online service delivery only.
  • STU is scaling its on-campus staffing to “an essential services model.” Offices are staffed to a minimum. Some employees are working from home.
  • Campus offices will remain open for essential services only.

To access student services:

March 16

UNB COVID-19 cases

In an email sent on March 16, students were informed that St. Thomas University received information from the Government of New Brunswick’s Public Health services about presumptive cases of coronavirus in the University of New Brunswick Fredericton campus community.

The email said those individuals are self-isolating and their cases are related to the first travel-related case in the province.

All UNB students, faculty and staff are being asked to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days. STU students are not.