COVID-19 : Message from the President

March 13, 2020

To All Parents, Guardians, Sponsors, Friends, Relatives, Well-Wishers of Students, Prospective Students and AIU Stakeholders,

In the face of this health crisis that we are facing all around the world, the university wishes to provide information regarding appropriate measures that we are taking for the safety of everyone on our campus here in AIU. Our university operates under the regulations stated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Innovation, Thailand. Compliance is on the list of our priority.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, we received instructions from the ministry on initial regulations to contain the spread of Coronavirus. We met immediately to discuss and made plans for prevention and protection. Since then there have been many more regulations issued by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Innovation and the Ministry of Health.

The university subsequently issued more announcements regarding protective plans for the university. We have strict travel measures relating to the high-risk countries according to Thai CDC. We prohibit traveling or transiting through these high-risk countries unless there is an emergency. In the case of such emergency travel, permission needs to be sought prior to traveling and the granting of this permission is based on strict regulations. Upon returning to the campus, individuals who have traveled are expected to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days.

The dormitory deans are aware of the regulations relating to self-quarantine. These regulations come from the Ministry of Health and are implemented by the local public health office. We also discourage all students, faculty and staff from traveling outside of the country. Again, all travel out of the country needs permission from appropriate departments/areas (VP for Student Administration, VP for Academic Affairs, and HR). Upon returning to campus, they need to check in with the campus nurse for clearance and take preventive the same precautionary measures as described above.

The university has set up a committee that meets on a weekly basis, which tracks all the updates on this outbreak and recommends appropriate measures to the university. Large student gatherings are decreased and discouraged. Other measures are activated through coordinated efforts by various departments in the university. We are trying our best to ensure safety for our students, faculty and staff. Additionally, we work closely with the District Public Health Department on prevention.

The Thai government has put in place a mechanism that will track those who have been exposed. Anyone coming to Thailand through high-risk countries have to submit all necessary information to the immigration office at the airport including names, locations they have been to, transit points, number of days spent, and the destination in Thailand. With this information, the immigration will pass the names on to the District Public Health Office. The officers will than visit the homes of these individuals to inform regarding the regulations and procedures for self-quarantine. They will also enforce the procedures through daily visits. Everything is being spelled out for all.

If an individual breaks the regulations, the government officials will deal with them accordingly. At this point, there has not been a single case of Coronavirus in Muak Lek District. A few individuals who have transited through any of the countries on the watch list are under quarantine.

We would like to pass this information along to the members of the constituency to let you know that we are doing our best to ensure safety for all and will continue to cooperate with the Ministry of Health on the implementation plans while tracking the latest development on a regular basis.

Thank you very much for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Siroj Sorajjakool
President, AIU