Funding, News and Announcements

Animal Care: COVID 19 update

Tuesday May 18, 2021

To the Dalhousie research community:

Although case numbers are declining, Nova Scotia has seen nodes of C19 community spread outside the central zone that are not yet fully traced as of the weekend and the general regional lockdown and other measures remain in place. See Coronavirus (COVID-19): restrictions and guidance section of Government of Nova Scotia web site for guidance.

We have had multiple animal care workers absent for extended periods for COVID related reasons; we are being extremely cautious in our approach to ensure we have adequate staff to meet our HR needs. There is currently no plan to relax the current research constraints until the situation improves, and when this comes this will be a joint decision from the Provost and Vice President Research and Innovation in conjunction with other campus authorities.

Current restrictions:

• no new studies may be initiated until further notice; current (in-progress) studies can be completed on their original timelines
• all animal orders are suspended
• where possible, schedules for essential workers should be accommodated
• UCLA and ACUC will continue to review new studies, however these studies cannot commence until current restrictions end
• hands on training of students and PI staff by the Animal Care Training Coordinator will be suspended until current restrictions are ended, distance training and online training can continue
• PIs should minimise the number and frequency of staff accessing animal care facilities to the bare minimum required to ensure animals are adequately cared for, and use the online facility and room booking options where available to ensure contacts are minimised
• previous guidelines issued for field research will continue

My regrets to the community for the ongoing research interruption that this unfortunate situation presents. My office will be sending updates on the current restrictions on animal research on a weekly basis until the current situation is resolved.

Please feel free to contact the office (ucla@dal.ca) at any time for further advice and information.

Best regards,

Dr Chris Harvey-Clark
University Director of Animal Care
Dalhousie University