July 31, 2020
ATTN: Students, faculty, and staff
Director, Crisis Management Office
Following the government’s lifting of the state of emergency, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (OUAVM) announced its pandemic measures on its website on May 26, 2020.As Japan has seen a resurgence of infections in recent weeks, OUAVM has updated those measures regarding domestic and international business and leisure trips as follows.
Domestic business and leisure trips
Our July 2 notice asked that, from August 1, our faculty and staff exercise extreme caution in decisions on business trips by ascertaining the infection status at destinations and stopovers. Given the recent nationwide resurgence of new COVID-19 cases, we ask them to continue to refrain from domestic business travel.
However, if they consider such trips necessary after carefully examining alternatives such as teleconferencing, they should state the reason for the trip in the “Remarks” section of the travel order/notification and apply via the travel expense processing system.
Please note that OUAVM may choose not to approve the trips in consideration of the state of infections in Japan and other circumstances.
With regard to domestic leisure trips, we ask students, faculty, and staff to refrain from nonessential outings and to decide whether to proceed with such trips with extreme caution by ascertaining the infection status at the destination.
If they must take a business or leisure trip, they should exercise all necessary precautions to prevent infection on mass transit, such as by wearing a mask. Further, after returning home from their trip, they’re asked to keep tabs on their health by checking their temperature and watching for other symptoms of COVID-19, and to avoid contact with others for at least for two weeks through measures such as working from home.
From July 13, OUAVM began in-class instruction for certain practical training and other sessions, with sufficient infection control measures in place. Instructors should take every precaution against infection when students take class sessions off campus, and students are asked to follow their guidance.
International travel and inviting/hosting of overseas researchers and other visitors
OUAVM will continue to prohibit students, faculty and staff from traveling abroad or inviting/hosting overseas researchers and other visitors, because the Foreign Ministry’s March 25 advisory to citizens to avoid all non-essential and non-urgent travel outside Japan (Level 2) remains in place.
