This week’s message includes information about the impact of Region 2 COVID-19 Tier 1 mitigations, Redbird Study Spaces, vaccine distribution, and COVID-19 testing availability.
Visit Illinois State University’s Coronavirus website for the most up-to-date information and guidance. Questions can be emailed to coronavirus@ilstu.edu.
Impact of Region 2 COVID-19 Tier 1 Mitigation Regulations
Over the past weekend, Governor Pritzker announced that Region 2 COVID-19 metrics, which includes McLean County where Illinois State is located, have improved. The region has moved to Tier 1 resurgence mitigations. On-campus impacts of this change are as follows:
Meetings and Events
Meetings and events can be held for on-campus groups and are limited to lesser of 25 guests or 25 percent of overall room capacity for both indoors and outdoors. All public health guidance must be followed such as face coverings and physical distancing.
Bone Student Center: McAlister’s Deli and Timbers Grille in the Bone Student Center will be open for indoor seating in accordance with occupancy limits as outlined by the Illinois Department of Public Health. For the most up-to-date information about services and building hours, visit the Bone Student Center website.
Campus Recreation: For the most up-to-date information about programming and events, visit the Campus Recreation website.
- Indoor and intramural sports are allowed, but must follow IDPH guidelines
- The Climbing Wall is open
- The Student Fitness Center will raise the capacity back to 125 people per reservation
- The pool is undergoing repairs, but will open soon
- Locker rooms and showers are available
- In-person Group Fitness classes will resume Monday, January 25, and virtual options will continue
- Esports venues will open for club practices starting the week of January 25
- The Redbird Adventure Center will continue curbside equipment rental and virtual team building
Bowling and Billiards Center: The Bowling and Billiards Center (BBC) is open. For more information visit the BBC website.
Temporary Work-at-Home Agreements
Following a November directive from the Governor which moved our Region to Tier 3 mitigation regulations, all staff with job duties which could be performed from a remote location but were, instead, working on-campus, were encouraged to work from home. Staff who were unable to perform their duties from a remote location continued to report to campus.
Given the move to Tier 1, those staff who began working remotely in November should return to work on campus on Monday, January 25. This change does not affect all staff working from home but, rather, only those individuals who transitioned to remote work based solely on the Tier 3 mitigations, as communicated in an email from Human Resources to the campus community on December 18.
Modifications of work-at-home agreements already in place do not need to be sent to Human Resources. New work-at-home agreements, regardless of duration, should be forwarded to Human Resources via the Covid19_HRquestions@ilstu.edu email.
Employees with questions about their temporary work-at-home status should contact their supervisor. Human Resources will share additional information with supervisors via email.
Redbird Study Spaces
Redbird Study Spaces are classrooms available to students Monday-Friday, with the exception of holidays and breaks. The QR Code at the door is not a sign in. The code notifies the University that the room will need extra cleaning and will help determine whether additional spaces should be added. Rooms are available during regularly scheduled building hours unless otherwise indicated in the classroom. For information about building hours, visit the Coronavirus website.
Classrooms used for Redbird Study Spaces include:
- Center for Visual Arts, Room 133
- DeGarmo Hall, Room 209
- DeGarmo Hall, Room 305
- Fell Hall, Room 116
- Fell Hall, Room 125
- Schroeder Hall, Room 103
- Schroeder Hall, Room 115
- Schroeder Hall, Room 206
- State Farm Hall of Business, Room 135
- Stevenson Hall, Room 126
- Stevenson Hall, Room 131
- Stevenson Hall, Room 311
- Turner Hall, Room 212
Vaccine Distribution
Illinois State University remains in constant contact with the McLean County Health Department (MCHD) regarding vaccine availability for the campus community. MCHD determines when and how much vaccine the University receives.
University employees eligible to receive the vaccine in accordance with the State’s vaccine distribution plan will receive a prenotification email at their ilstu email from Student Health Services indicating that the vaccine is expected to be received soon.
When the University receives the vaccine for persons in a phase, employees will be notified by email and provided instructions on how to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine. A similar process will be followed for persons receiving the second dose of the vaccine.
While participation is not required, all employees are strongly encouraged to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
At this time, there is no information available from state or county officials regarding the timing of mass vaccination for the campus community.
COVID-19 Testing
Students and employees are encouraged to participate in COVID-19 testing. Only individuals being tested should enter a testing center. Antigen testing for asymptomatic students and employees is available from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday – Friday, in the temporary building in the parking lot between Watterson Towers and Stevenson Hall and the former fire station at 604 N. Adelaide St., Normal.
Students experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms or who believe that they were exposed to a person with COVID-19 should contact Student Health Services at (309) 438-7676 for direction regarding quarantine and/or to schedule an initial screening and make an appointment to be tested. Symptomatic employees should contact their healthcare provider for testing or to make an appointment.
PCR COVID-19 testing remains available for students, faculty, and staff at the Interstate Center testing site. Students testing at this site should share positive test results with Student Health Services by uploading them to the Secure Patient Health Portal. Sharing test results will ensure students have proper documentation for classes, housing, and/or employment.
