March 25, 2020
Orange County is mandating an emergency “stay at home” order that takes effect at 11 p.m. Thursday, March 26, for at least two weeks through 11 p.m. Thursday, April 9. This is an expansion of the previously announced curfew in Orange County and is a concerted effort to reduce further spread of COVID-19.
The order applies to all individuals within Orange County, with exceptions for essential workers and essential activities as outlined in the order. Frequently asked questions are addressed here: newsroom.ocfl.net/2020/03/stay-at-home-to-flatten-the-curve-orange-county-issues-stay-at-home-order-effective-march-26-2020-faqs.
UCF has taken strategic actions to depopulate the campus over the past several weeks.
By tonight, students who reside in UCF Housing should have returned to their permanent residences. Those with extenuating circumstances remaining on campus and students in off-campus housing must abide by the order. Students currently off campus should not return to UCF until further notice.
The period of remote work for employees will continue until further notice.
Starting Friday, March 27, only those employees who have been identified as essential; whose job functions require them to report to campus; and whose supervisors have approved them continuing to work on campus should be at UCF. Only essential employees who meet all three of these criteria will have key card access to campus buildings. If you are unsure about how this applies to you, talk to your supervisor about what the “stay at home” order entails.
Starting Friday, March 27, through April 9, UCF will provide paid administrative leave to employees who are unable to work on campus and unable to work remotely. This leave applies to faculty, administrative and USPS employees. Beginning April 1, when the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act takes effect, faculty and staff—along with eligible OPS employees—may qualify for emergency leave. All other faculty, administrative, and USPS employees who do not qualify for the federal aid and who cannot work remotely will be provided administrative leave. Employees not available for work due to illness or personal time must take sick or annual leave per UCF policy.
More detailed guidance about the federal legislation will be shared soon with employees, supervisors and HR liaisons.
Additionally, the Office of Research had earlier this month identified and approved researchers who could continue to have limited access to their labs. In response to the “stay at home” order, the list will be further reduced to only allow access to personnel critical to maintaining facility operations. Those individuals will be selected by their college deans or directors and approved by the Vice President of Research. More information will be forthcoming.
UCF will continue to share regular updates here: ucf.edu/coronavirus/coronavirus.
We thank you for your understanding and support during this dynamic, unprecedented time. Please continue to take steps to keep yourself and those around you healthy and safe.