COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) Updates

The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), commonly known as a coronavirus, is a virus identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. For additional information visit the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website. 

According to the World Health Organization, common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. The CDC believes that symptoms may appear in as few as two days or up to 14 days after exposure. 

AUC is taking precautions to lower the risk of exposure and do our part to curb the spread of the virus.  With this in mind, we are shifting all basic science courses for Sint Maarten students to online delivery via Canvas for the remainder of the semester. We believe this decision, consistent with best practices from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) will best protect the Sint Maarten community.

Since classes will be available online, students can choose to return home to finish out the semester. We ask that students consider the risk of traveling to the U.S. before making their decision. Classes will pause until Wednesday, March 18, 2020, to allow students time to travel and settle into their preferred location. If they identify in the high-risk category according to CDC guidelines, they are asked to please reach out to [email protected] to assist with logistics of their travel.

The Sint Maarten campus will remain open and operating for students who make the decision to stay. We ask those students who remain on campus to continue to also take precautions, including practicing social distancing, while they participate in distance learning from their homes.

If you choose to leave Sint Maarten, please plan for your pet or plan on bringing your pet along with you.
 

The UK Track, like our Sint Maarten program, has moved to deliver all semester course activities online. Students were given the option to return home or remain in Preston to continue their learning remotely. This change went into effect on Thursday, March 19, 2020. 

UK Track students are able to participate in online learning, access lectures, and complete their coursework via digital means including Blackboard and Microsoft Teams. 

Precautions can be taken to minimize your risk and prevent exposure and spread of the disease. The CDC has published a medical decision-making tool that you can use to understand your risk and which gives guidance based on risk.   

Personal Hygiene 

It is important that we work together to take common sense precautions that can reduce the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19.  

Per CDC guidelines 

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, if soap and water are not available. 
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. 
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. 
• Clean and frequently disinfect common work surfaces. 
• If you or a family member develops a fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as a cough or shortness of breath, or are experiencing cold- or flu-like symptoms, work with to alert appropriate contacts and practice social distancing.   

Travel Advice, including reduction: 

We have been monitoring all government-issued travel guidance and have made the decision to follow the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s advice regarding travel to areas with increased risk of COVID-19, as follows: 

• AUC is cancelling travel for all colleagues to countries that have been given a Risk Assessment Level 2 or higher travel advisory. These countries are China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City (Level 3), and Japan (Level 2). As the CDC provides travel advisories for additional countries, we will update our guidance. 
• We strongly encourage you to follow the same guidance and carefully consider any travel between countries.  

• If you have traveled to any of the restricted countries, we ask that you notify [email protected] so we can take appropriate precautions. 

    Community Activities 

• All campus community activities are suspended until further notice. Students and colleagues will be notified via SIREN and email for information about activities resuming. 

Visitor Screening 

• Campuses will be monitoring if anyone visiting the location has flu-like symptoms that include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, headache or difficulty breathing OR if they have traveled to China, South Korea, Iran, Japan or Italy (or been in close contact with someone who has traveled to these areas). If you are planning to visit a campus and have any of these symptoms, we ask that you do not attend events on campus.  
• To ensure the safety of our campus communities, each campus may have additional protocol specific to that location. 

Social Distancing 

• We have instituted social distancing measures on campuses to reduce the likelihood of exposure or transmission. This includes postponing group meetings and other activities that require large groups to be confined in closed spaces. We are also asking employees who have traveled to an area with heightened risk to practice social distancing and not come to campus. 

If you believe you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 or believe you are displaying symptoms, please contact your local health department and email us at [email protected] so we can take appropriate precautions. 

We are following a CDC recommended protocol, which would include having the at-risk individual leave the campus and remain off campus. For those designated “at risk,” AUC will continue to coordinate their next actions, which may include quarantine/isolation or medical care.

We advise clinical students to follow the protocols and recommendations in place at their clinical site. For clinical students, we advise them to take all precautions to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19. We are also communicating with all clinical sites to request that they update us on any known exposures to our students or faculty at their sites within 48 hours. We will continue to monitor that information carefully. 

We have temporarily transitioned our basic sciences curriculum to an online learning platform in order to continue supporting our student’s education, while they remain in the safety of their homes. We are well-prepared to deliver an interactive and seamless online learning experience, and will continue to enroll and start our programs without interruption. We have made the decision to deliver medical sciences courses virtually for the May semester, as well, beginning with the term start date of Monday, May 5, 2020. 

Many traditional Match Day festivities are virtual and those celebrations will go on as planned. All in-person Match Day celebration events in New York, Detroit, and Miami have been cancelled.

As the global public health situation continues to evolve, our main priority is the health and safety of our students and their families, our colleagues and our community. With this is mind, AUC has determined it is critical to cancel the May commencement ceremony. While your hard work deserves to be commemorated, we won’t be able to come together in person in May. The circumstances of this global health crisis mean we, as medical practitioners, need to lead by example in modeling social distancing and putting community safety first. We applaud our graduates for their perseverance and dedication to reaching this milestone in their medical training, and will reach out to them with an update on how we plan to celebrate at a later date. Please know, this in no way lessens the importance of our graduate’s accomplishment, and if anything, further demonstrates the critical need for exceptional healthcare professionals.

With the new travel guidance from the Government of Sint Maarten, inbound flights from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and Europe will be cancelled for a period of two weeks, beginning Tuesday, March 17, 2020. The full announcement is available here. 

On March 17th, only incoming visitors from the USA, Canada, Europe, UK and Ireland are restricted to enter the country of St. Maarten. This does not apply to St. Maarten/St. Martin residents. The current travel restrictions apply for two weeks starting on Tuesday, March 17th. Commercial airlines will be allowed to land and take-off after the March 16th deadline date to facilitate the following: 

• Visitors who are currently on the island who are scheduled to travel out via PJIA in the coming weeks to return to their home country.  

• Returning residents of St. Maarten/St. Martin

Those who elect to leave Sint Maarten and return home are asked to submit their travel plans at https://www.aucmed.edu/flight-information. 

While we have suspended in-person instruction, campus will remain open and operating, excluding the gym, for those who make the decision to stay in Sint Maarten. As a reminder, lectures need to be attended remotely and lecture halls will not be accessible during scheduled lecture delivery times. We will continue to support on-campus student services, including: 

• Cafeteria, with ample food available (NOTE: cargo shipments will continue during the travel restrictions). 

• SXMFitFoods Café space in Building 2 

• Library 

• Wellness Center 

• Security shuttle 

• Student services and affairs support. 

• Dedicated security personnel who provide 24-hour coverage to the campus and surrounding community seven days a week 

If you come to campus for these services, we require the practice of social distancing. Per CDC guidelines, keeping a distance of six feet (two meters) is a critical component to reduce potential exposure and mitigate the risk of community spread. This is being advised for your own health and safety.

We are working on plans to have exams conducted remotely. We need more time to finalize the logistics of a solution that works technologically, is equitable, and maintains the integrity of the exams. 

Some exam dates will change or have been changed, and additional specifics on that will be forthcoming. 

The academic program delivery, which includes lectures, labs, other course activities, and in-person visits to faculty office hours – will occur virtually. 

The faculty and academic leadership team are preparing to deliver the curriculum virtually. Each semester team is creating plans to provide remote delivery, including: 

• Schedules 

• Technology  

• Lectures 

• Other “classroom” activities 

• Comparable alternatives to mandatory activities  

• Clinical activities with standardized patients 

• Faculty 

• Office hours  

• Assessment 

• Exam review 

• Remote resources for USMLE prep 

The first day of class in the May semester is May 5, 2020. With the speed in which things are changing, we are going to look ahead and plan for various scenarios, but it’s too early to know anything for sure about the May semester. 

We will begin virtual course delivery on March 18, 2020. If it becomes necessary to continue to utilize this medium for delivery, we will be ready to do so.

Here are the airlines that are currently operating from the Sint Maarten airport:

•  Liat 
• Sun Wing 
• Copa Airlines 
•  West Jet 
• American Airlines, to MIA daily until March 22, 2020