This is a weekly update to the UAF community about COVID-19, the official name of the sickness caused by the novel coronavirus.

There are still no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in Alaska, and there have been no fatalities nationwide attributed to the coronavirus. There are still no passenger flights to Alaska from China, and there are no flights of any kind (e.g., cargo) from China to Fairbanks.

We continue to focus on monitoring official information and consider plans for a potential outbreak at UAF. It is not yet fully understood how the disease is transmitted or when an infected person is contagious. For this reason, prevention is of utmost importance. Preventative activities include:

• Wash hands often with soap and water; if not available, use hand sanitizer


• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands


• Avoid contact with people who are sick


• If you’re sick, stay home and avoid close contact with others and cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing


• Regularly clean and sanitize surfaces subject to frequent contact, such as door knobs, telephone handsets and handles

The CDC does not recommend that healthy people wear dust or surgical masks in public.

Regular updates on this evolving situation will be published in Cornerstone. In addition, the university has a new website where we will post university-specific information and links to the most reliable sources of information about COVID-19. You may also want to review these sources for more guidance and information:

Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
Centers for Disease Control