Posted on April 1: Faculty of Health Sciences building closed to students

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BY Office of Public Relations

March 31, 2003

The Ontario Ministry of Health has now extended restrictions on hospitals within the GTA to all Ontario hospitals in order to contain Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Hospitals are now closed to students, and since the Faculty of Health Sciences building shares space with Hamilton Health Science's McMaster hospital, this restriction means that effective March 31, 2003, and until further notice, students, including non-health sciences students, are not allowed in the building. The exception is resident trainees (postgraduate M.D. students).

Faculty of Health Sciences classes are cancelled until further notice. Non-Faculty of Health Sciences courses that are normally taught in the Ewart Angus Centre will be relocated. See http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/internal/ for classroom relocation.

Faculty and staff are allowed in the Health Sciences building and are expected to report to work as usual.

Health officials are emphasizing that to date there have been no cases of SARS documented in Hamilton Hospitals.

Nonetheless, for safety's sake, the Government has implemented the following conditions for all hospitals in the province, including the McMaster Health Sciences Centre:

1. Access to each hospital site will be restricted. At the McMaster Health Sciences Centre, entry for patients is through the main, front entrance or the emergency room entrance. Faculty and staff will only be allowed to enter through the parking garage using the red elevators. Staff must present identification and be screened for their health condition, for each entry to the building. Click here for entrance restrictions on other Hamilton hospitals.

2. Staff and faculty will only be allowed to enter after showing Security appropriate employee identification and verification that the individual is not experiencing any of the symptoms of SARS including:

i. Headache, malaise, myalgia

ii.Fever (>38 degrees Celsius)

iii. One or more respiratory symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing

iv. One or more of the following:

1. Close contact with a probable case

2. Recent history of travel (within 10 days to Asia, especially in areas reporting cases of SARS)

The Ontario TeleHealth service is available 24/7 and will provide you with the assistance of a nurse to help confirm if you are concerned that any symptoms a person has are related to SARS.

For the McMaster community, the Campus Health Centre may also be called for assistance Monday to Friday at ext. 27700.

It is possible that these restrictions may be modified in the near future. People are encouraged to check this website for updates. Specific directives on classes and clinical placements will be sent to students and members of the Faculty of Health Sciences by email by each program's administration.