News

Dear CUE Community,

Many of us are concerned about the spread of the new COVID-19 variation known as Omicron. It appears that Omicron spreads much more readily than other variants of the virus, but is perhaps less severe in its impact on individuals.

You may have heard that universities in Ontario are starting the winter semester online for the month of January. This is in anticipation of an Omicron ‘peak’ in Ontario in mid-January. Alberta is, however, in a different position to Ontario. For that reason, CUE will monitor the situation closely over the holiday period, communicating with government representatives and other post-secondary institutions, and will make adjustments as necessary. As of now, and bearing in mind that we are a fully vaccinated community, we plan to resume the winter semester on-time and face-to-face. For now, expect ‘business as usual’ for winter, at least as it has come to be understood during the pandemic. Should that need to change, as these things often do rather quickly, I will of course communicate this.

There are things we can do over the holiday break to try and limit the spread. Continue to wear a mask and follow all Government of Alberta mandated covid restrictions. If you are eligible for a vaccine booster shot, get one. Finally, if you have access to the free rapid tests being made available to all Albertans use them, particularly before you come back on to our campus.  

Throughout the pandemic CUE has done well by always following the Alberta Health Services and Government of Alberta guidelines and regulations, and we will continue to protect the health and safety of our community by doing so.

Wishing you all the best for a safe and healthy holiday break.

Best,

Tim Loreman, PhD.

President and Vice-Chancellor.