Dear Colleagues,
Governor JB Pritzker issued a statewide stay-at-home order for Illinois residents on Friday, which currently extends until Tuesday, April 7. The goal of the executive order is to protect individuals by helping prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our communities and ensure that the state’s health care system remains operational to treat patients in need of urgent care. The first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the university community this weekend reinforce the importance of taking swift action to deter the spread of the disease and keep students, faculty, and staff as safe as possible.
The order will allow F&S to continue functions for essential infrastructure and business/operations. However, starting Monday, March 23, each division within F&S will begin taking further actions to significantly restrict staff scheduling and limit overall work activities to reduce the risk of exposure to employees performing critical services.
Under the stay-at-home order, scheduled employees may leave their residence to provide any services such as building management and maintenance, construction, utilities operation and maintenance, janitorial, solid waste and recycling collection and removal, public transportation and roads, hazardous materials response, and telecommunications systems. Entire groups and areas also defined as essential in the order are critical tradespersons, educational institutions, facilities that prepare and serve food such as dining halls, and businesses that support or supply materials for operation.
During this period, F&S will continue to respond to service requests and urgent situations through a combination of both on-site staff and remote workforce support. To report an urgent issue, please call the F&S Service Office, 333-0340. In all other instances, use the my.FS Portal.
As the situation changes, we will keep you updated on our efforts. You can also find previous communications regarding our response to the COVID -19 virus on the F&S website.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mohamed Attalla, MBA, P.Eng.
Executive Director, Facilities & Services