Even though UW-Madison’s in-person instruction will be suspended from Sept. 10-25, students will be allowed to report to their jobs in research labs under strict guidelines, Steven Ackerman, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education, said in a press release Thursday.
Students must not be under quarantine and must gain approval from their supervisors before returning to research labs. Additionally, students must adhere to all Dane County health ordinances including wearing a mask indoors, social distancing and following density limits.
This does suspend all face-to-face interactions between students and research subjects until Sept 25, Ackerman said in his statement.
During suspension of in-person classes, many campus buildings will remain open, Ackerman said.
Chancellor Blank has asked for employee meetings of ten or fewer for essential purposes only during the suspension.
Percent positive test results at UW rose everyday in the month of September until reaching a peak on September 7, with 22.6 percent of tests returning positive. The seven day average for percent positive tests at UW has risen everyday this month. Recently, hitting at an all time high of 10.4 percent, according to the UW’s Smart Restart Dashboard
The State has seen a rise in Covid-19 percent positive results as well. On September 14, Wisconsin saw an all time high seven day average, hitting a 13.8 percent positive rate. This coming after the three percent positive rates Wisconsin observed in June, according to the Wisconsin DHS’s website.
