In response to COVID-19 cases increasing on campus, and in the region and state, the Washtenaw County Health Department, in collaboration with the University of Michigan, issued a 14-day Stay in Place order for undergraduate students on the Ann Arbor campus effective immediately through at least Nov. 3.
Under the Washtenaw County order, U-M undergraduate students living in on-campus, near-campus or off-campus housing in the Ann Arbor area are required to "stay in place" and remain in their current designated residence.
The university fully supports this action, as it enhances protections for students and the welfare of the U-M community. Out of an abundance of caution, and while also making it as simple as possible for undergraduate students to comply with the order, provide choices for students and instructors, and to support those students who may choose to leave Ann Arbor and finish their semester from home, the university is taking the additional step of moving more of our undergraduate courses to fully remote instruction for the remainder of the semester.
Exceptions to the order include leaving a residence to attend class, pick up food, medication and other basic needs, and for medical appointments, voting or volunteering as poll workers, attending religious practice activities or obtaining COVID-19 testing. The order also specifies that undergraduate students can leave their residences for purposes of physical activity outdoors in groups of no more than two if appropriate preventive measures are followed. Students with jobs on campus can attend work with the consent of their supervisors – under public health protocols.
The order addresses social gatherings, which have been identified as the main cause of recent COVID-19 spread on campus, in the surrounding community and the broader region. Most of the cases on our campus can be traced back to small- and medium-size gatherings without appropriate face coverings and social distancing.
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