Confirmed case of COVID-19 at Notre Dame Campus

Posted: November 24, 2020

Red River College has been advised today that an additional member of our community tested positive for COVID-19. Cases reported today are unrelated and not the result of transmission on campus.

Due to the stringent safety measures in place, Public Health considers this case low risk. At this time, we can share the following information:

• This case involves an individual at the Notre Dame Campus. The last time they were on campus was November 13^th. They were asymptomatic at the time.
  • Their activity was limited to one area of the College and they were following all of the appropriate safety protocols.
• Everyone connected to the case has been contacted by the College. They have been advised to follow Public Health advice to self-monitor, and have been instructed to contact the Health Centre should their condition change.
• Regular cleaning and disinfection protocols have since been completed to the affected space and surrounding areas.

If you have not heard from the College, you are not connected to this case. NDC remains open and no programs or services are impacted. We will continue to work with Public Health in support of their ongoing investigation.

Unfortunately, we know that COVID-19 community transmission continues to be a reality in our province. Every day new cases are shared by Public Health, and even though neither of the cases we have shared today have been connected to the College, we have a large network of students and staff who live and work and learn in our community and this is the difficult reality of the pandemic we are facing. What we will stress is that we are committed to following strict health and safety protocols outlined by public Health, and by RRC’s Safety and Health Services, and we will continue to communicate updates to you as soon as the information becomes available.

Thank you for continuing to do your part to keep each other safe.

Updates, if required, will be provided via email and will be shared online at rrc.ca/coronavirus

 

Confirmed case of COVID-19 at RRC’s Winkler Campus

Posted: November 24, 2020

The following message was sent to all Red River College students, faculty and staff this afternoon from Melanie Gudmundson, Chief Human Resources Officer:

Red River College has been advised that a member of our community has tested positive for COVID-19. We wish this individual and everyone else at the College affected by this virus a quick recovery.

Due to the stringent safety measures we have in place, Public Health considers this case to be low risk.  At this time, we can share the following information:

• The case involves an individual at the Winkler Campus and the last time they were on campus was November 12^th.
• The individual was symptomatic while on campus, however their contact was limited and their contacts were following all of the appropriate health and safety measures.
• Everyone connected to each case has been contacted by the College. They have all been advised to follow Public Health advice to self-monitor or self-isolate, and have been instructed to contact the Health Centre should their condition change.
• Deep cleaning and disinfection protocols have been implemented in the affected spaces.

If you have not heard from the College, you are not connected to this case. The campus remains open and no other programs or services are impacted. We will continue to work with Public Health in support of their ongoing investigation.

We want to remind all staff and students to stay home when they, or anyone in their household is not feeling well or experiencing any symptoms. These protocols we have in place are designed to protect the College community, and we will work with you to provide support if you must miss class or work because you are feeling unwell. We are at a critical juncture as a province and we must all work together to stop the spread of the virus within our community and protect one another.

We want to urge all staff and students to continue following the advice of public health advice at all times – on and off campus – to help limit the spread of the virus. For more information on the fundamentals and best practices, please click here.

For more important information on our protocols if you or someone in your household is experiencing symptoms, please click here.

Thank you for continuing to do your part to keep each other safe.

Updates, if required, will be provided via email and will be shared online at rrc.ca/coronavirus

 

How we keep campuses clean and disinfected

Posted: November 24, 2020

As people continue to learn, teach, and work on campus, we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to keep our spaces as clean and safe as possible.

To enhance safety on campus, the College recently purchased new Clorox 360 Electrostatic Sprayer Systems to disinfect spaces like labs, classrooms, washrooms, and other areas. These sprayers release a mist to disinfect spaces and are proven by Health Canada to be effective against viruses like COVID-19.

We use the sprayers to disinfect campus spaces on a regular basis. As well, if any space at the College were to be exposed to COVID-19, we’d be able to shut down and disinfect the impacted area quickly and safely using one of the sprayers.

Watch the video below to see how the sprayers work.

Want to learn more about our cleaning protocols on campus? Review our FAQs.

RRC announces new COVID-19 Health Care Support Worker Micro-Credential

Posted: November 20, 2020

Yesterday, the Government of Manitoba and Red River College announced a new initiative to support improved staffing and resident support in personal care homes and long-term care facilities across the province, with the launch of a COVID-19 Health Care Support Worker micro-credential.

Red River College will offer a week-long condensed, high-intensity training program that will train students to work as uncertified health-care aides (UHCAs) and create immediate employment opportunities for Manitobans including students currently enrolled in a health sciences faculty or program.

These workers will support all members of the resident care team, assisting with resident care and support under the general supervision of a manager or nursing supervisor. Duties may include resident observation, companionship, redirection, stocking of supplies and more.

“As part of our continued efforts, we’ve established a Rapid Execution and Deployment Team that will continue to create new and innovative solutions to offer our expertise, facilities, and network of campuses to support all Manitobans in response to COVID-19,” said Fred Meier, president and CEO, RRC.

“I am proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish to aide in our provincial response, and I want to commend our staff and faculty for continuing to step up and support our communities.”

Interested individuals must apply to the COVID-19 casual pool and select the location where they prefer to complete the training. The deadline to apply for the first intake of students is Monday, Nov. 23.

Employment as UHCAs is also available to first- and second-year students in a health sciences faculty and programs, without the requirement for additional education. Students will be hired directly into the COVID-19 casual pool and assigned to a personal care home.

Opportunities exist throughout the province. All successful applicants will be provided with appropriate personal protective equipment for the setting in which they will work.

Read the joint news release here.

Read the full story here.

Operational Response Levels

Posted: November 19, 2020

The following message was sent to all Red River College students, faculty, and staff on Nov. 18:

To all Red River College staff and students,

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to alter course in sometimes hard-to-predict ways, we’ve come to recognize the need to change how we plan and communicate the status of Red River College’s program delivery and operations.

Beginning today, Red River College will define its level of operations using a scalable colour-coded approach based on the Province of Manitoba’s Pandemic Response System. This will replace our Phased Re-Entry approach.

This new approach allows us to plan for, and respond to, multiple scenarios that could impact on-campus activity. It reinforces our efforts to keep our College community safe, and provides the flexibility needed to support online and blended delivery of our programs.

The new approach will replace our Re-Entry Phases with Operational Response Levels:

• Green
• Yellow
• Orange
• Red

The College’s current operational status will appear in a colour-coded banner at the top of our COVID-19 information page.

Changes to our risk level and our response will be guided by direction from Public Health. A response level may apply to entire campuses, or only to specific facilities or buildings (i.e. in the event of a localized cluster or outbreak). RRC response levels may also differ from those currently applied to the Winnipeg Metro Region or other parts of Manitoba.

A rising risk level will lead to stronger responses and restrictions. At the same time, responses for each risk level will be flexible and proportionate to the risks involved.

This new approach does not change our current operations and delivery of programs or services at the College.

Public Health has advised that Red River College is currently at Orange (Restricted) level due to our stringent health and safety measures, which meet or exceed current directives. This level allows for limited on-campus activities for students who require hands-on training.

General information about the directives and guidelines associated with each Operational Response Level are available at rrc.ca/coronavirus/on-campus-safety/levels/.

We will provide updates about any changes to our operational status, and what those changes mean, on the COVID-19 news blog, Staff and Student News, on-campus digital signage, RRC social media, and via email where appropriate.

The safety and health protocols in place at Red River College have helped us keep our numbers down and ensured there’s a very low risk of transmission on our campuses which has enabled us to maintain our current operations while keeping each other safe. Thank you for working together to help us limit the spread of COVID-19.

If you have any questions, please email safety@rrc.ca

Melanie Gudmundson,
Chief Human Resource Officer

Three confirmed cases of COVID-19 at RRC; one at NDC, two at EDC

Posted: November 17, 2020

Red River College has been advised that three members of our community tested positive for COVID-19. These cases are unrelated and not a result of transmission on campus.

We wish them, and everyone else at the College affected by this virus a quick recovery.

Due to the stringent safety measures we have in place, Public Health considers these cases low risk.  At this time, we can share the following information:

• The first case involves an individual at the Notre Dame Campus and the last time they were on campus was November 13^th.
  • Their activity was limited to one area of the College and they were following all the appropriate safety protocols.
• The second and third cases involve two individuals at the Exchange District Campus, and the last time they were on campus was November 10^th, and November 13^th – respectively.
  • Each of their activity was limited to one area of the College and they were following the appropriate safety protocols.
• Everyone connected to each case has been contacted by the College. They have all been advised to follow Public Health advice to self-monitor or self-isolate, and have been instructed to contact the Health Centre should their condition change.
• Deep cleaning and disinfection protocols have been implemented in the affected spaces.

If you have not heard from the College, you are not connected to this case. Both campuses remain open and no other programs or services are impacted. We will continue to work with Public Health in support of their ongoing investigation.

We want to urge all staff and students to continue following the advice of public health advice at all times – on and off campus – to help limit the spread of the virus. For more information on the fundamentals and best practices, please click here.

For more important information on our protocols if you or someone in your household is experiencing symptoms, please click here.

Thank you for continuing to do your part to keep each other safe.

Updates, if required, will be provided via email and will be shared online at rrc.ca/coronavirus

Province of Manitoba announces all of Manitoba moves to Critical (RED)

Posted: November 10, 2020

Today, public health officials announced further restrictions to Manitoba, moving the entire province to Critical (Red)– effective Thursday, November 12.

What this means for the College:

Due to the stringent safety measures and protocols that post-secondary institutions have in place, public health has confirmed that today’s announcement will not change the current academic programming offered on campus.

It is our responsibility as a College to continually evaluate best practices and work closely with public health, to ensure academic programming can continue safely. The College has taken early-steps to reduce the number of people we have at our campuses to support operations and activities taking place. Today we’re providing additional direction to all leaders to encourage their staff to work from home where possible, in order to maintain the continued safe operation and delivery of our programs.

Student supports and services

Student supports and services will be delivered virtually wherever possible and will continue to be available to all students. Students are permitted to use the designated learning spaces on-campus for the purpose of participating in their program virtually as well. For more information about the student supports and services available, please click here.

Work Integrated Learning Placements:

All work integrated learning placements will continue as planned unless we are advised by the placement site that they are unable to continue with the placement as a result of the new public health directives. We will continue to closely monitor all work integrated learning placements, and request regular updates from the sites, in order to ensure our students are well-supported.

Today’s news is difficult, and I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued commitment to keep learning happening during these trying and uncertain times. The work we’re doing both on and off-campus plays such an important and critical role in our province and I can’t thank you enough for your continued commitment to our students and to each other.

We know that these further restrictions will bring new challenges for many of us across the College. We are all members of the Red River College family, and it’s important that we take the time to care for ourselves and each other. Resources are available for  students and staff to support through this challenging time

This is a critical time in our province as we move to flatten the curve, and we commend the College community for working together and doing their part to limit the spread of COVID-19.

For more information on all of the public health restrictions visit: https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?item=49737&posted=2020-11-10

 

Two confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Notre Dame Campus

Posted: November 9, 2020

Today, Red River College was advised that two members of our community tested positive for COVID-19. These cases are unrelated and not a result of transmission on campus. We wish them, and everyone else at the College affected by this virus a quick recovery.

Due to the stringent safety measures we have in place, both cases are considered low risk. As of today, none of our reported cases are the result of transmission on campus.

At this time, we can share the following information:

• Both individuals were asymptomatic and the last time they were on campus was November 3.
• Their activity was limited to one area of the College and they were following all the appropriate safety protocols.
• Everyone connected to each case has been contacted by the College. They have all been advised to self-monitor, and have been instructed to contact the Health Centre should their condition change.
• Cleaning and disinfection protocols have been implemented. Deep cleaning has occurred in the affected spaces. As an added precaution, the surrounding entrances, hallways, stairwells, lockers and washrooms have been cleaned and disinfected as well.

If you have not heard from the College, you are not connected to this case. The Notre Dame Campus remains open and no other programs or services are impacted. We will continue to work with Public Health in support of their ongoing investigation.

As a reminder please continue to follow public health advice at all times, including: stay home if you’re sick, self-isolate if you or any of your family are symptomatic and waiting for test results, wear a mask in public places (and on all RRC campuses), practice good hand hygiene, cough etiquette, physical distancing, and reduce your contact with those outside of your immediate household.

As part of our protocol if you or someone in your household is experiencing symptoms you must do the following:

• Go home immediately, or remain at home.
• Contact the RRC Health Centre at 204-632-2238 to be assessed by one of our nurses.
• Follow the direction given and steps that you need to take. Our Health Centre will provide follow-up support as-needed to anyone impacted.
• Contact the Health Centre prior to returning to campus.

I want to commend the College community for continuing to follow the health and safety measures we have in place and stress the importance of remaining committed to these important fundamentals. We cannot become complacent when it comes to safety, and we must continue to hold each other accountable in order to protect one another.

Updates, if required, will be provided via email and will be shared online at rrc.ca/coronavirus

Confirmed case of COVID-19 at Notre Dame Campus

Posted: November 6, 2020

This morning, Red River College was advised by Public Health that a member of our community tested positive for COVID-19. The last time this individual was on campus was Wednesday, October 28. They were asymptomatic at that time. Everyone at the College wishes them a quick recovery.

This individual’s on-campus activity was limited to one building and they were following the appropriate safety protocols we have in place including: wearing a mask, abiding by physical distancing measures, and leaving as soon as their on-campus tasks were complete. All individuals who were in that space have been contacted, are now self-monitoring, and have been advised to contact the Health Centre should their condition change.

As part of our cleaning and disinfection protocols, deep cleaning has already occurred in the affected spaces and the entire building is undergoing additional cleaning as a precautionary measure.

Due to the stringent safety measures and protocols that we have in place, Public Health considers this case low risk and there continue to be no cases as a result of community transmission at the College.

If you have not heard from the College, you are not connected to this case. The Notre Dame Campus remains open and no other programs or services are impacted. We will continue to work with Public Health in support of their investigations whenever there is a positive case connected to the College, and support those affected.

We remain committed to communicating these updates to you and sharing information as soon as it becomes available to us. This is not meant to alarm anyone, but it’s an important reminder that community-based transmission is a reality in our province right now. Our COVID-19 protocols continue to allow us to respond quickly to each case, to ensure our facilities are safe for faculty, staff and students, and support those who have been impacted. It’s imperative that we continue to work together to prevent transmission on campus and keep one another safe.

We want to remind everyone at the College to continue to follow public health advice, including the fundamentals: stay home if you’re sick, self-isolate if you or any of your family are symptomatic and waiting for test results, wear a mask in public places (and on all RRC campuses), practice good hand hygiene, cough etiquette, physical distancing, and reduce your contact with those outside of your immediate household.

As part of our protocol if you or someone in your household is experiencing cold or flu like symptoms you must go home immediately, or remain at home, and contact the RRC Health Centre at 204-632-2238. A nurse from the Health Centre will assess your situation and determine the steps you need to take next, provide follow up support as needed, and advise you on when you can return to campus.

As a College community, we have done a great job following the advice and best practices of public health in order to prevent the spread of the virus on campus. I want to commend the College community for continuing to follow the health and safety measures we have in place and stress the importance of remaining committed to these important fundamentals. We cannot become complacent when it comes to safety, and we must continue to hold each other accountable in order to protect one another.

Updates, if required, will be provided via email and will be shared online at rrc.ca/coronavirus.

Confirmed Case of COVID-19 at Notre Dame Campus

Posted: November 5, 2020

The following message was sent to all Red River College students, faculty and staff this morning from Melanie Gudmundson, Chief Human Resources Officer:

Last night, Red River College was advised by Public Health that a member of our community tested positive for COVID-19. The individual was asymptomatic while at the Notre Dame Campus. The last time they were on-campus was Wednesday, October 28.

Everyone at the College wishes them a quick recovery.

Due to the stringent safety measures and protocols that we have in place, public health considers this case low risk and there continue to be no cases as a result of community transmission at the College. Deep cleaning, as part of our cleaning and disinfection protocols, has already occurred in the affected spaces and they are back in service.

Public Health’s investigation is ongoing, and anyone at the College who may have been connected to this case has already been contacted. If you have not heard from the College, you are not connected to this case.  The Notre Dame Campus remains open and no other programs or services are impacted. We will continue to work with Public Health in support of their investigations whenever there is a positive case connected to the College, and support those affected.

We cannot let our guards down and we want to remind all everyone at the College to continue to follow public health advice, including the fundamentals: stay home if you’re sick, self-isolate if you or any of your family are symptomatic and waiting for test results, wear a mask in public places (and on all RRC campuses), and practice good hand hygiene, cough etiquette, physical distancing, and reduce your contact with those outside of your immediate household.

As part of our protocol if you or someone in your household is experiencing cold or flu like symptoms you must go home immediately, or remain at home, and contact the RRC Health Centre at 204-632-2238. A nurse from the Health Centre will assess your situation and determine the steps you need to take next, provide follow up support as needed, and advise you on when you can return to campus.

It’s important that we continue our efforts to adhere to the COVID-19 safety measures we have in place. These stringent health and safety protocols have been very effective in reducing the risk of transmission of the virus at Red River College and we appreciate everyone’s continued diligence and commitment to these principles.

Please note: in order to protect the privacy of everyone involved, the College will not share the name or any potential identifying information about any confirmed or potential case of COVID-19 to ensure that those affected can focus on their own well-being and recovery.

If you need help coping with stress or anxiety, we have resources available to support our students and staff. For more updates on the current COVID-19 situation in our province and the way it impacts the College, please visit www.rrc.ca/coronavirus.

I know these continue to be challenging times and I would once again thank our College community for working together and doing our part to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Updates, if required, will be provided via email and will be shared online at rrc.ca/coronavirus