Dalhousie University Under Fire for Failure to Fully Enforce Its Own COVID-19 Security Policy – Halifax | The Canadian News

Nova Scotia’s largest university is moving forward with a 2022 vaccine testing mandate after sharing that its own COVID-19 safety policy has not been fully implemented or adhered to.

“Many of our members had agreed to do in-person activities trusting that the students there and other staff members would comply, either fully vaccinated or with proven negative test results,” said David Westwood, President-elect of the Faculty Administration. by Dalhousie. (DFA).

Westwood says the roughly 1,000 academic members represented by the DFA were confident that everyone who returned to campus activities would comply with the campus verification process.

According to the Dalhousie University website, any member of the school community who does not complete the Campus Check program will not be able to participate in campus activities, including classes.

This is why Westwood says it learned from Dalhousie that only about 20 percent of people who reported not being vaccinated or preferred not to disclose their status regularly met the requirement of two negative COVID-19 tests per week through of the program.

“There did not appear to be any consequences or applications and that was more than a little alarming,” he said.

An interview request with Dalhousie University was rejected.

An email statement from the university reads in part: “While we have been working on compliance measures to increase this percentage, it is one of several factors that has led us to consider a revised approach for the winter period,” he wrote. Janet Bryson, a Dalhousie University media relations officer.

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The university has stated that the lack of full compliance with the campus verification process is part of its decision to move toward a vaccine trial mandate for the winter term.

Westwood says the update lacks clear information on how and when the mandate will be enforced.

“That, for us, is not acceptable because classes start in early January and we cannot have our members in classes where their health and safety are not guaranteed. So the university has to find a way to ensure compliance, ”he said.

According to the most recent information from Dalhousie, 98.2 percent of his community has provided proof of complete vaccination.

Per school policy, those who are not fully vaccinated, or prefer not to disclose their status, must submit two negative COVID-19 tests a week in order to attend activities on campus.

Knowing that this policy was not fully enforced has also concerned some residents of the area.

“It was disingenuous of the Dalhousie administration saying they were going to implement this safety requirement and standard, and then they just didn’t do anything about it,” said Halifax resident Logan Attwod.

Attwood feels the university should take immediate action to prohibit anyone who violates its own policy from attending activities on campus.