In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Animal Care and Use Committees administered by the University advise investigators to:
- consider if their work involving animals can be modified, delayed or postponed;
- assess their plans to provide animal care in the event members of the research team become ill or staff are advised to stay home; and
- to follow safe workplace practices and limit personal contacts, laboratory visits or trips into clinics and hospitals. Specifically, in some research settings it may be possible to reduce in-person interactions or replace them with telephone or online communication.
If research staff are feeling unwell, care should be taken to ensure they stay home to prevent transmission of any illness. If COVID-19 is known or suspected, AHS protocols should be followed (https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page16944.aspx)
The animal services units on campus all have emergency continuity plans for their operations, including animal care and use, animal ordering and oversight of alternate animal housing locations. Senior staff from the University Animal Care and Use Program are meeting on Monday, March 16 to discuss operational continuity in the event the University has to modify day-to-day operations.
Because our review procedures are all online, the ACUCs will continue to operate normally, subject to reviewer and staff availability. The Research Ethics Office has plans for managing ACUC meetings if face-to-face meetings are not recommended. We will contact researchers in the event of changes and post information on our website, https://www.ualberta.ca/research/support/ethics-office.
The ACUCs typically review and approve modifications to approved animal work before they are implemented. If you have any questions or concerns about exceptional circumstances please contact:
- Dr Craig Wilkinson, University Veterinarian (craig.wilkinson@ualberta.ca)
- Dr Frances Plane, Chair Health Sciences ACUC I & II (fplane@ualberta.ca)
- Ms Donna Taylor, ACUC Consultant (dtaylor@ualberta.ca)
Research plans involving travel and/or large public gatherings should be re-assessed in light of the University travel advisory issued on March 7, 2020 and the decision yesterday by Alberta Health Services (March 12, 2020) to cancel international events and events involving more than 250 people.
The following websites should be consulted for up-to-date information on COVID-19:
https://www.ualberta.ca/services/health-centre/coronavirus-info/index.html
https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html