ORU Health and Safety Information

We pray your summer has been fun, blessed and restful. We are looking forward to having you back on campus!

As we reflect on this past year, we thank God for His protection and wisdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. ORU lifted previous COVID-19 guidelines and protocols during the summer, and we are planning on maintaining that approach for the fall semester. It is imperative, however, that you exercise wisdom and vigilance during this season as the most recent Delta variant is spreading throughout the world, and as reported, is significantly more transmissible and carries with it a much higher viral load-increasing the overall risk to individuals.

ORU Health and Safety Task Force is continuing to monitor the guidelines, recommendations, data and trends of COVID-19. As we fulfill our role, the most influential actor in your health, safety and welfare is YOU. Accordingly, we strongly encourage you to continue to exercise responsibility for yourself and the ORU community..

Below is some important information as we prepare to return to campus in August.

1. First and foremost, ORU expects all of its students, faculty, and staff to prayerfully exercise the highest degree of personal responsibility to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Please consult with your physician/health care provider to ensure you are fully educated on the relevant facts, have evaluated options to address COVID-19, and are able to make fully informed and appropriate decisions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of yourself as well as all members of the ORU community.
2. ORU is not requiring students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 as a condition of returning to campus and/or attending in-class instruction this fall. Neither will students be required to provide a negative test result for COVID-19 before entering the residence halls or attending classes, and there will be no temperature checks or check-in apps. ORU does reserve the right to implement COVID-19 testing requirements.
3. At this time, masks will be optional in all campus venues and at all campus events. Social distancing will not be required in the cafeteria, food outlets, Chapel, classrooms, or departments. Residential classes and faculty-student interactions will continue to be offered in-person, face-to-face, and virtual formats. Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout campus to ensure good hygiene.
4. Should any on-campus student test positive for COVID-19, or been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, designated quarantine and isolation spaces are available. Just like last year, you are welcome to return home for isolation/quarantine. Current CDC guidance provides for different quarantine and isolation recommendations depending upon an individual’s vaccination status, so ORU may need to inquire about your vaccination status in order to determine quarantine/isolation protocols. All members of the ORU community are to follow all reporting protocols to ensure safety for everyone on campus.
5. Complimentary testing for COVID-19 and the influenza virus will be available through ORU Student Health to staff, faculty, and students free of charge (as supplies are available), allowing anyone who is symptomatic to be tested.

As ORU continues to monitor CDC, state and local health authority guidelines, data, and trends, it is important for you to understand that the information in this email is subject to change. ORU reserves the right to implement layers of safety which may include, but are not limited to, testing, masks, social distancing, etc.

Please email healthandsafety@oru.edu with any questions.

Be Safe,

The Health and Safety Task Force

“. . . I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2 (NIV)