Soft Research Restart, Facility Restart Plans, Departmental Support

As many of you have heard, IU is hoping to restart research as early as May 18.  For safety reasons, everyone will not be able to return to work immediately, so this restart will probably happen in phases.  Guidance from our administration will most likely come this week, but until our Provost says we can return to work, please continue to abide by the current guidelines.

In anticipation of a phased restart, we, as a department, will be responsible for most day-to-day activities and, therefore, need to have a plan in place.  By the end of the week, research groups and facilities need to address points (1) and (2) below.  The department is also in the process of securing masks, cleaning supplies, and hand sanitizer (see point (3)). As a department, we must maintain a safe environment, both in terms of chemical safety, and in terms of being compliant with CDC guidelines (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html).  Toward that end, I would like to initiate our own guidelines for a possible “soft start” of research, keeping in mind that the situation is still evolving, and the restart date may be delayed.  As a starting point:

1. For PIs who wish to voluntarily participate in the soft start when campus gives the green light (again, possibly as early as 18 May), please provide a detailed plan on how you will operate with a maximum of one PI and two group members in the building at any given time.  These plans should include use of PPE (masks and gloves), frequent disinfectant cleaning (keeping in mind that custodians are not following any of us around at every moment to disinfect every surface before and after we touch it), avoidance of working alone while maintaining 2 m between all people, continuing virtual group meetings, no more than one person per office, elevator, etc.  As of right now, PIs will be held responsible for providing a safe environment for their groups.  We would like to have these plans emailed to Jon Karty by Friday, 15 May at 5pm, IF you wish to soft start your research.  Let me know if you would like to see an example of a plan.
2. We’re asking that all facilities managers also provide a detailed plan to keep any vulnerable staff safe, and avoid multiple people using walk-up services at any given time (e.g., provide a detailed scheduling plan).  Please have these plans to Jon Karty by Friday, 15 May, at 5pm.
3. Departmental support-

• • PPE- The department has already received a case of 2000 masks and we’re keeping the stock of gloves up.  More masks and goggles are on order right now.
  • Cleaning supplies-  We’ve also placed orders for cleaning wipes, but there is a significant lead time.  These items will be made available in the stockroom when they are received.  In the meantime, if you have your own disinfecting spray cleaners or wipes, these may be used.
  • Hand sanitizer- Assuming the supplies remain available, we will maintain our own source of hand sanitizer in the stockroom.  Again, in the meantime, if you have been able to find hand sanitizer at the store, it of course can be used.
  • Training- There may be training recommendations made by the restart committees. Any online training resources will be posted on the Safety page of the website.

Questions such as testing and building filtration are being discussed.  As you will note, many of these issues are beyond the control of the department, and we will need to receive guidance on how IU plans to proceed.

It is important to point out that the virus is very unpredictable and we do not know who has underlying conditions that might result in more severe cases.  PIs need to maintain good communication with their group members and respect concerns they may have about health and safety issues in the lab.

It is also very important to note that if there is a COVID outbreak in Chemistry or Simon Hall, EVERYONE’s research will be shut down indefinitely. It would be difficult to overstate how important it is to take this seriously.

And again, please continue to share ideas and concerns with us.