Temperature checks and testing
- For your own safety and that of your colleagues/students, please stay home if you are sick or are running a fever and notify your line manager immediately as per the official USEK sick leave policy.
- If you undergo COVID-19 testing for any reason, you must notify USEK immediately by sending an email at: ovpcl@usek.edu.lb.
- In collaboration with CHU-NDS, thermo-scans have been purchased to perform temperature checks at all entrances and randomly on campus. Anyone with a fever higher than 37°C will be required to go back home and will not be allowed on campus.

Parking, campus access and punching machines
- Regardless of your assigned parking lot, please use the P1, P2 and Building H parking lots. All other parking lots will be closed for the time being.
- Access to campus will be limited to the main gate (Gate A). The University Residence entrance will remain closed until further notice.
- Regular punching procedures for staff are suspended until further notice. To minimize contact with external surfaces, no fingerprint is required; just swipe your USEK ID at the bottom of the punching machine (faculty punching section) and wait for the long beep.

Other preventative measures
- All campus events and conferences are temporarily postponed.
- Safety guidelines and instructions are posted in key areas around campus (entrances, elevators, dispensers, Library, labs, etc.).
- Alcohol-based sanitizer dispensers are available across campus.
- USM staff have been instructed to clean all offices before the resumption of activities and take extra cleaning measures by disinfecting high-risk areas, such as door handles, buttons and switches, handrails, tables and desks, and WCs.
- Staff and faculty are expected to wear masks at all times while on campus. Gloves remain optional, but keep in mind that wearing gloves does not replace regular handwashing and sanitization. Please consider bringing in your own masks, gloves and alcohol-based sanitizers. Always remember to cough or sneeze into your inner elbow or a disposable tissue to be thrown immediately in the appropriate lined trash can.
- Avoid shaking hands, hugging, or touching your own eyes, mouth or nose even if you are wearing a mask.
- Avoid using shared equipment (printers, photocopy machines, etc.) unless absolutely necessary and wash/sanitize hands after each use.
- Routinely sanitize surfaces that are frequently touched (keyboards, desks, remote controls, etc.) using disposable wipes and throw the wipes in the appropriate lined trash can after each use.

Working hours and shifts
- Deans and unit directors have been instructed to determine whether the staff on their teams can keep on working from home whenever possible.
- In subsequent stages, classes may be added at night or on weekends to reduce course density, potentially requiring rotational shifts for staff and faculty, to be settled with unit directors and/or deans and heads of departments.

Use of elevators and air conditioning units
- Abide by the safety instructions and guidelines posted near/inside elevators.
- Use the elevator only for urgent cases or to transport heavy items; only one person will be allowed per elevator ride.
- The use of central AC units and splits is strictly forbidden until further notice to avoid virus spreading in air-conditioning ducts.

Social distancing in offices and classrooms
- Abide by a mandatory safe distance of 2 meters with your colleagues in the same office or with students in classrooms and other shared spaces.
- Avoid gatherings and socializing activities in shared spaces with colleagues, including at mealtimes.
- Visits by family members and friends are strictly forbidden to avoid any risk of contagion.
- Plexiglas shields have been installed in student service offices/front desks with regular disinfectant spraying and hand sanitizers available for student use.
- Only two students/visitors will be allowed inside at a time to avoid crowding in small offices.
- Classrooms, lab and studio practices will be reviewed to avoid close physical contact. Large lecture classes and “crowded” courses will be reconfigured and moved to larger rooms to ensure proper social distancing.
- Remaining parts of courses will be taught intensively to reduce contacts between students and minimize student interactions on campus between and after courses.
- The Summer Session is maintained for graduating students only.
- Additional entrance exams will be scheduled in due time to avoid overcrowding in examination halls and ensure safe proctoring. Online entrance and admission procedures are adopted as needed.

Food delivery
- Food delivery from outside campus is allowed only through the main entrance. Any food boxes delivered will have to be picked up in person and disinfected before being brought in on campus.
- Zouki will be open to food deliveries on campus.

Mental health support
- The USEK Counseling Center (UCC) will be providing mental health support to students when needed through combined online and in-person sessions. For more information, please contact Ms. Rindala Merhi at: ucc@usek.edu.lb.
- COVID-19 is a disease, not a stigma! Speak out against negative behaviors and statements and seek/share facts about COVID-19 through trusted channels to counter the spread of disinformation and fake news.