MARCH 26: CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

To members of the ECU Community:

The safety and welfare of our campus is our top priority. During challenging times, it is important to stay connected with family, including your Pirate family. We want to make sure you are updated regarding campus operations and any significant changes related to COVID-19 as it relates to ECU.

Regular updates and information about COVID-19 and steps ECU is taking to protect the health and safety of our community are available on the university’s coronavirus website. Additionally, a weekly update will be sent via email through ECU Alert until the situation no longer warrants weekly updates.

Thank you for your patience, flexibility and understanding during this unprecedented event. Most of our employees are teleworking and fewer than 50 students remain on campus with plans in place to manage their needs and health. We are grateful for the dedicated faculty and mandatory employees keeping our essential operations going, particularly those on the front lines in our clinical operations who continue to serve the medical needs of our community.

Please know that ECU is working closely with the Pitt County Health Department, the lead agency in communication for presumptive and confirmed positive cases. With increased testing, it is likely the number of confirmed cases will increase in our region.

Bill Koch
Associate Vice Chancellor
Environmental Health and Campus Safety

Updates:

City of Greenville Stop the Spread Order

Greenville has issued a Stop the Spread Order beginning Thursday, March 26, at 5 p.m. This order directs all city residents to stay at home and limit movements outside of their homes to only essential needs. The order is valid through April 10, 2020.

Pitt County Stay Home Order

New restrictions for all unincorporated areas of Pitt County started Wednesday, March 25 in further efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. It limits all non-essential travel and the number in assembled groups to no more than 10 people. The order is set to last from 5 p.m. on March 25 until April 8, 2020.

Residence hall move out

March 25 was the final day students were permitted to remove items out of campus residence halls. Students who have opted to leave their belongings in the residence hall will be contacted in the next several weeks about the process to return to campus, likely in early May, to complete the move out process.

Alternative course delivery

Courses transitioned to alternative course delivery on March 23. Click here for tips for online learning. Click here for resources for faculty and staff.

Emergency grading accommodations

On March 23, ECU implemented the pass/fail option to undergraduate students. Courses graded as pass/fail under this exception will count towards applicable curricular, major, continuation and graduation requirements.

Spring 2020 Commencement

May’s in-person commencement celebrations, including unit and departmental ceremonies and Grad Bash, will not be held. The university is working to develop a plan to recognize and celebrate your accomplishments. In addition to the virtual event in May, we are also discussing events in August and December to recognize our graduates. We will provide more details as those plans are finalized. Our ECU Commencement website will be updated with the latest information.

Human Resources information for employees

Guidance related to teleworking, administrative leave, mandatory status and timekeeping are available. Employees are encouraged to reach out to supervisors with any questions.

Call center

The call center closed on March 24. If additional information is announced and there is a need to re-open the call center, we will do so at that time. Inquiries from students, employees and parents while the call center is inactive should be directed to COVID19@ecu.edu.

What you can do

Please continue to take the following precautions:

• Avoid contact with persons who are sick.
• Practice social distancing of at least six feet.
• Frequently clean hands with soap and water or alcohol-based sanitizer.
• Cover your cough and sneezes (into your flexed elbow or tissue) and wash your hands immediately.

Next update

Unless changing circumstances warrant earlier communication, the next update will be sent on Thursday, April 2.