April 5, 2020

To Faculty, Staff, and Students,

As part of our concerted effort to provide updates regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as we endeavor to maintain the health and wellness of our students, faculty, and staff, the purpose of this message is to inform you that an employee of an Albany campus tenant has tested positive for COVID-19 and will remain isolated from the campus population until public health officials have indicated they may return. We sincerely wish this individual a full and rapid recovery.

Fortunately, at this time it appears there was minimal contact with others on campus as a result of current social distancing and work from home efforts. Five people with whom this employee may have come into contact have been notified and are working from home in quarantine for 14 days as a precaution. 

The section of the buildings (NFX shipping/receiving and NFE 3rd floor) that the individual with confirmed COVID-19 exposure had visited were already sanitized as soon as it was learned they were being tested for COVID-19 (before their confirmed positive test result). For those essential employees who are on campus, please know you may see further deep cleaning in the specific areas on campus where the individual had been, which may involve a cleaning crew wearing hazardous materials suits.

Given the likelihood that our campus would be impacted with an illness, SUNY Poly has been preparing and established A COVID-19 task force that meets regularly via video conference to address priorities and plan future responses. COVID-19 Exposure Guidance procedures are being followed and implemented. It is also the institution’s responsibility to safeguard the privacy of those on campus, and in accordance with federal law related to health information, the individual cannot be identified. 

Those in our community directly impacted by this unprecedented public health crisis will likely grow in the coming days and weeks. As we learn about them, we will continue to alert you about COVID-19 cases impacting those employees still on our campus.

To help answer a number of questions and to keep our community informed about the latest COVID-19 information, please visit SUNY Poly’s COVID-19 webpage, which is updated regularly: sunypoly.edu/covid19.

Rest assured that SUNY Poly will continue to put in place the necessary measures to maximize our community’s health. We will continue to be as transparent as possible and provide information that can be helpful for us all to remain calm in the face of uncertainty. Most of all, we truly appreciate your flexibility, patience, and understanding as we work toward these ends.

  
The Office of the President