Message to students about travel over Thanksgiving/during Fall Break
The following message was distributed to current students on October 7, 2020, via their @upei.ca emails, as well as posted on the UPEI website and UPEI SAFE app.
Dear students,
As we approach Thanksgiving weekend and Fall Reading Week (October 12–16), it is understandable that those of you currently on Prince Edward Island may be considering travelling out of the Atlantic region to visit family and friends.
However, due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in other areas of the country, we strongly encourage you to remain on PEI or within the Atlantic bubble (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and PEI) during the break. This will ensure that you do not face any barriers when returning to PEI and to your studies at UPEI.
Leaving the Atlantic region may increase your risk of infection and the risk of infecting others. If you travel outside Atlantic Canada, you will be subject to PEI public health regulations, including self-isolating for 14 days upon your return. You must have a pre-travel plan approved by the PEI Chief Public Health Office in advance of returning, or risk being denied entry to the province.
We are very fortunate to be on PEI, where there has been no community spread and very few cases of COVID-19. We are Panther proud of what you have been doing in order to keep our UPEI community safe: in some cases, self-isolating and being tested for COVID-19; wearing masks in campus buildings; and remaining in small groups. As we head into the long weekend and fall break, let’s keep up the good work while taking some time to relax and recharge after an unprecedented first half of the Fall Academic Semester. We ask that when you do gather with family and/or friends this Thanksgiving, please do so in small groups and follow current PEI public health guidance for Fall Holidays and Celebrations.
If you have any questions about travelling off-Island, please email registrar@upei.ca.
Sincerely,
Donna Sutton
Associate Vice-President of Students and Registrar
University of Prince Edward Island
