GEORGE TOWN: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will execute a temporary lockdown at all its campuses for three weeks from tomorrow until April 5.
The temporary lockdown will be implemented in stages.
USM vice-chancellor Professor Dr Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan said with the temporary lockdown, staff at all Schools and Academic/Research Centres will be required to work from home from tomorrow until March 22 for the first phase.
He said this will involve all Centres of Responsibility (PTJs), except PTJs which are central agencies, providing major services to the university.
"Nevertheless, in order to ensure communication channels remain open with every PTJ, department heads are requested to appoint a minimum of two administrative staff to be present at the office throughout the official working hours until the end of the lockdown period.
"The working hours for all staff who are working from home will be from 8:30am to 5:30pm, and the staff need to be ready and available whenever contacted by the supervisor/dean/head of department during the period," he said, adding that further information on the guidelines for the implementation of ‘Work From Home’ will be released by the Registrar Department.
A memorandum on the matter has been uploaded to USM's official Facebook page.
Faisal said USM has also decided to shift the mid-semester break to an earlier date, from April 6-12 to March 30 to April 4.
"Students are not barred from going home during the mid-semester break.
"However, they are highly advised to remain on campus throughout the duration of the break. This is meant to avoid further risks of the Covid-19 outbreak," he added.
Faisal also said access into all USM campuses would be restricted, with visitors (non-USM entrants) required to undergo safety/health screening checks at checkpoints.
At the main campus, only two main gates will be open (Sg Dua gate and Minden gate).
At the engineering campus, only the main gate will be open, while access to the health campus and IPPT will remain open as usual.
Meanwhile, Faisal said all premises selling food items at all campuses are required to prepare readily-packed food only, which could be taken home by customers from tomorrow until Sunday; and all customers are prohibited from dining or being present at the premises throughout this period.
"Also, congregational Friday prayers for this week will not be performed at Masjid Al-Malik Khalid USM. Members of the congregation are requested to do their Zuhur prayers at their own homes.
"The surrounding community intending to do transactions at public service premises such as banks, post office and others which are available on campus are not allowed to do so. The public is encouraged to seek other alternatives outside the USM campus," he said.
As for all library services, he said, they will be available until 2pm tomorrow, following which, the library will be closed until further notice.
The Museum and Gallery Tuanku Fauziah (MGTF), CEMACS and Archaeology Galleries will also be closed to visitors/patrons from today until April 30.
"The University authorities will also execute a self-decontamination process for all campuses in a progressive manner, to ensure the safety and well-being of all community members.
"All campus community members are requested to be patient throughout this moment of distress and to maintain togetherness in facing this outbreak.
"All initiatives listed above are measures executed for precautionary and containment purposes for the next three weeks, to prevent the outbreak from spreading, as part of the university’s social responsibility (CSR), containment and social distancing exercise," he added.