Dear Colleagues,
I’m pleased to report that Phase 1 of MBL research resumption has progressed smoothly this week and, to date, approximately 60-70% of resident research labs have received clearance to resume on-campus activity. By design, research is not operating at “back to normal” levels or capacity and plans have prioritized a thoughtful and safe re-opening of laboratory operations. A safe and successful research reopening will serve as a critical first step toward increasing activity across the entire MBL campus.
I’d like to thank the many scientific and support staff across the institution for their diligent and careful planning. As our resident labs begin to reopen, the effectiveness of plans will be studied, and adjustments made as needed with the primary objective of minimizing potential COVID-related risk to the MBL community always at top of mind.
The draft Administration reopening plan is currently undergoing an internal review and will then be reviewed by the University of Chicago prior to final approval by Nipam Patel. Pending the Director’s approval, and if research reopening progress continues to go well, we expect that June 29 would be the earliest date the Administration plan would go into effect. As our campus ramps up operations, limiting the density of and contact among people within our facilities is one of the most effective ways of protecting our community. As such if work can be performed remotely effectively, it should be.
As communicated previously, all staff are required to complete a workplace safety training program and sign an electronic form affirming that they acknowledge COVID-19 safety training and attest that they will comply with all safety precautions. The training program link was e-mailed to all faculty and staff earlier this week. The training must be completed by end of the day on Monday, June 22. After that time building access will be disabled for anyone that has not yet completed the training. From Tuesday, June 23 forward, once you complete your training MBL Security will re-enable your building access within 48 hours. If you did not receive the e-mail or have any technical questions, contact helpdesk@mbl.edu.
Also please note that today, Governor Charlie Baker announced that Step Two of Phase II of the Commonwealth’s four-phase reopening plan will begin on Monday, June 22 to allow additional industries to resume operations. MBL’s re-opening plans are not affected by this development.
As always, thank you for continued efforts to safeguard the health of our community.
Paul Speer
Chief Operating Officer