FC: UC Berkeley bars students arriving from SARS-affected nations

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

---


Date: Mon, 5 May 2003 10:34:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph Lorenzo Hall <jhall () astron Berkeley EDU>
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>, Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Subject: SARS policy at UC Berkeley...

Declan and Dave,

This, in itself, is probably not politech- or IP-worthy but I thought
you two should get a heads up.

It turns out that UC Berkeley will not allow any students from SARS
affected countries to attend summer school... it seems that it has to
do with liability.  That is, if they were to allow a student to come
who later turned out to be infected with SARS, an "elaborate isolation
procedure" would have to be initiated... and the University doesn't
have the resources for this.  Here is the direct quote (full
bulletin attached below):

---
**Summer Session Students Arriving from Universities in Hong Kong,
Taiwan, People's Republic of China and Singapore (see footnote):

After close consultation with several public health officials and
campus experts, and based on the strong recommendation of the City of
Berkeley Health Officer, I deeply regret that we will not be accepting
enrollments of students from these areas.  We look forward to the
lifting of the CDC travel advisories so that we can once again welcome
all of these students to our campus. Several hundred students will be
affected by this decision.  Their fees will be fully refunded.  Our
reasoning for this decision is as follows.  All of these students
would have to be monitored for a ten-day period.  Should any of them
develop SARS related symptoms, the CDC requires that elaborate
procedures be implemented that would include isolation and other labor
intensive measures that we are not able to provide currently.  If the
CDC lifts the travel advisories to these areas, then this policy would
no longer be in force.
---

This seems to not be the full story as tourists and such from affected
countries are not denied entry into the Bay Area... specifically, the
University seems to not even want to take a chance on plausible
alternatives such as requiring the students to come to the US ten days
early and stay in a hotel (instead of the dorms).  Further, some are
thinking that this may even violate California's Propostion 209 which
reads (in part):

SEC. 31. (a) The state shall not discriminate against, or grant
preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race,
sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public
employment, public education, or public contracting.

take care,
Joe

------------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Lorenzo Hall                     jhall () astro berkeley edu
Graduate Student                        astron.berkeley.edu/~jhall
Astronomy Department
601 Campbell Hall                       voice: (510) 643-8592
University of California at Berkeley    fax  : (510) 642-3411
Berkeley, CA 94720-3411                 face : 753B Campbell

"The human population does not double every 18 months, but its ability
to use computers to keep track of us does. You can't encrypt your
face." -- Phil Zimmermann; http://news.com.com/2100-1009-998728.html


From: Robert M. Berdahl, Chancellor
[mailto:calmailsupport () marble berkeley edu]
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2003 6:00 PM
To: Academic Senate Faculty, All Academic Titles, Emeriti, Staff, Other
Members of the Campus :
Subject: SARS Policy - Read Carefully


--------
To Members of the Berkeley Campus Community:


The SARS task force has continued to meet and advise me on SARS
related matters affecting the campus.  As a result, I am now issuing
updated policies and procedures.  Please read this carefully and share
it broadly.


SARS CDC Definition
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is an acute respiratory
infection that has recently been reported in Asia, North America, and
Europe.  Signs and symptoms include:
** fever (100.4 F/38 C or higher)
** respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, difficulty
breathing
** AND travel (including transit in an airport) within 10 days of
onset of symptoms to an area with current or recently documented or
suspected community transmission of SARS (People's Republic of China
and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Singapore; Taiwan; and
Toronto, Canada. Hanoi, Vietnam is an area with recently documented or
suspected community transmission of SARS)
**OR close contact within 10 days of onset of symptoms with a person
known or suspected to have SARS infection.


******If you have these symptoms and have traveled to these identified
countries, or had close contact with a suspected SARS case, you should
immediately contact your physician and contact University Health
Services (642-1814).  Please call your physician or University Health
Services first and indicate that you may have SARS related symptoms
and you will be instructed about next steps.  Please keep University
Health Services and your immediate supervisor informed of your
condition and the steps you are taking to address it.  You cannot come
to work or attend classes without medical clearance from your
physician or the University Health Service. ******


**Faculty, Staff and Student Travel to Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's
Republic of China and Singapore:
I have already recommended in my April 17 memorandum to Deans,
Directors and Department Chairs that all non-essential travel to the
above areas be postponed as a result of CDC advisories.  This
continues to be my strong recommendation.  The use of University funds
for travel to these affected regions is prohibited unless the travel
is deemed essential by your Vice Chancellor. The CDC includes in its
definition of travel individuals on connecting flights into airports
in the affected regions.


**Summer Session Students Arriving from Universities in Hong Kong,
Taiwan, People's Republic of  China and Singapore (see footnote):
After close consultation with several public health officials and
campus experts, and based on the strong recommendation of the City of
Berkeley Health Officer, I deeply regret that we will not be accepting
enrollments of students from these areas.  We look forward to the
lifting of the CDC travel advisories so that we can once again welcome
all of these students to our campus. Several hundred
students will be affected by this decision.  Their fees will be
fully refunded.  Our reasoning for this decision is as follows.  All
of these students would have to be monitored for a ten-day period.
Should any of them develop SARS related symptoms, the CDC requires
that elaborate procedures be implemented that would include isolation
and other labor intensive measures that we are not able to provide
currently.  If the CDC lifts the travel advisories to these areas,
then this policy would no longer be in force.


**Currently Enrolled Students whose Country of Legal Permanent
Residence is in Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's Republic of China and
Singapore; and Newly Admitted Students for the Fall Semester from
Those Areas:


This group includes several hundred students.  We anticipate that some
currently enrolled students from those areas may return home for the
summer.  We will be contacting them and newly admitted students to
provide them with specific health care information dealing with their
arrival to campus in the Fall.  They will be required to fill out a
detailed questionnaire on the state of their health and they will be
monitored by University Health Services for a ten-day period.  The
exact details of this program are being worked out.  The Residential
and Student Services Program has developed a protocol to deal with any
student who may develop SARS related symptoms.  This protocol has been
reviewed by public health officials and other members of the SARS task
force.


**Campus Sponsored Visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, People's Republic
of China and Singapore:


A number of campus units host individuals and delegations from other
countries.  There is such significant variation in these visits
(length of stay, purpose, length of time in the United States, etc.)
that it is not feasible to develop a blanket policy.  In general, I am
asking the campus sponsors of these visits to weigh carefully how
essential the visits are and whether they could be postponed until the
CDC travel advisories are lifted.  It is incumbent upon the sponsor to
notify University Health Services (642-1814) of all visits in this
category well in advance of the visitors' arrival.  Depending on the
circumstances, certain visits may need higher level administrative
review before proceeding.  All visitors from SARS affected regions
will receive the same information and attention as faculty, staff and
students arriving from those areas.


I wish to emphasize that our policies and procedures are based on CDC
guidelines and our consultation with campus experts and State and
local public health officials.  The CDC guidelines are subject to
change at any time as are these policies.  I would urge you to check
the CDC web page regularly (http://www.cdc.gov.) for the most up to
date information on all matters related to SARS.  I will continue to
keep you informed as well.


As this is a quickly changing situation, the best source for
up-to-date information on campus policy and actions is the UC Berkeley
NewsCenter web site at http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/ The NewsCenter
page will highlight important new developments as they arise. In
addition, the NewsCenter provides a standing link to an archive of
SARS-related campus communications, background with campus experts and
links to the CDC and other official sites.


For further information or clarification of these policies, please
contact Associate Chancellor John Cummins (642-7516,
jcummins () uclink4 berkeley edu).


For further information on health matters related to SARS, please
contact Pamela Cameron at the University Health Service (642-1814,
pcameron () uhs berkeley edu).




Robert M. Berdahl
Chancellor



footnote
- The CDC has issued Travel Advisories for the People's
Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, advising against
non-essential travel. Logically, these are the areas we are most
concerned about, for travel both to and from.
-The CDC has issued Travel Alerts for Hanoi and Toronto. These do not
involve advice against travel. UC is less concerned (in this policy)
about travel from these areas.
-However, for the purposes of assessment, surveillance, and reporting,
the CDC Case Definition defines travel as
"Travel (including transit in an airport) within 10 days of onset of
symptoms to an area with current or recently documented or suspected
community transmission of SARS" and goes on in a footnote to name the
People's Republic of CHINA, HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, TAIWAN, TORONTO
(all current transmission) and HANOI (recent). In other words, areas
on both the advisory and the alert lists are of concern.  We will
identify individuals from Toronto and Hanoi and provide information to
them as well.




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