President Kumara Jayasuriya COVID-19 Announcement

Greetings

The Corona virus, also known as COVID-19, has the attention of the entire country, and SMSU is no exception. As of today, Friday, March 13, there are 9 cases of Covid-19 in Minnesota. Fortunately, we don’t have any confirmed cases in Marshall. In light of that, I want to update the Mustang family, address common concerns, and let you know what steps we have taken to monitor and limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community we serve.

First and foremost, our primary concern is the health and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and community. We are closely monitoring the guidelines that come from the Minnesota State system office, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Center for Disease Control.

In order to stem the spread of COVID-19 and protect the Mustang Family, we have suspended classes from March 16th through March 22nd. If you are a student, you can think of this as an extension of your spring break. Faculty and staff will report to work and spend that week exploring alternative modes of course delivery, which will be used when classes resume March 23rd, through the end of the Spring semester.

We have banned all school and business-related international travel as well as out-of-state travel. All events or gatherings totaling more than 100 attendees are cancelled until May 1. We will evaluate the situation at that point.

We will be sure to adhere to the guidance from the CDC for campus cleanliness.

This is a very fluid situation that presents inherent uncertainty. As such, our Pandemic planning team meets several times a week to revise and update our plan. We created a webpage to share information. You can access this from SMSU’s main webpage — SMSU.edu.

SMSU is committed to ensuring a welcoming and supportive environment to all Mustangs. It is important that we act thoughtfully and responsibly during this uncertain time.

I appreciate your understanding and willingness to help each other as we navigate this situation.

Thank you for your attention.

Published: Friday, March 13, 2020