University’s approach to tracking and communicating confirmed cases of COVID-19

To: RFA Membership, CUPE 3904 Membership

Dear colleagues,

It has come to our attention that our academic staff may be concerned about the university’s approach to tracking and communicating confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our campus.

The university has posted its approach for reporting and communicating cases on campus on its COVID-19 website.

The health and well-being of our community is a top priority. When a case is reported to Ryerson, it is tracked, monitored and assessed for three primary purposes:

• to assess and manage possible risk to community members;
• to assist public health agencies in contact tracing;
• to prevent any potential spread of COVID-19.

In deciding whether or not to communicate a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case on campus, Ryerson University considers:

• confirmed risk to the health and safety of the Ryerson community
• the direction of local public health agencies

If an individual has COVID-19 or is suspected to have COVID-19, unless informed otherwise by public health, the sharing of personal health information is strictly limited to Ryerson staff who need to know this information for the purposes outlined here.

The university is committed to communicating to individuals who may have come in contact with a confirmed case. This includes details that allow potentially impacted community members to assess their individual risk, i.e. the location a confirmed case last visited, while not providing identifiable details of the confirmed individual, as public health information is protected by privacy legislation.

We encourage colleagues to share the university’s  (google form) self-declaration form (external link) , which can be used by any member of our community that has tested positive for COVID-19. This will trigger the university’s investigation process, which is managed by our Environmental Health and Safety team. Alternatively, information about confirmed cases or questions can be directed to our Environmental Health and Safety Officer, Tanya Vlaskalin at tatjana.vlaskalin@torontomu.ca.

Thank you and stay safe,

Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano
Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs