Important UPDATES as of 20.04.2020: new set of guidelines for Campus access, and movement within Campus

2020, April 20

Dear NU community,

As many of you will have seen, the Government of Kazakhstan has issued a new set of guidelines that cautiously loosens restrictions starting tomorrow, allowing certain economic activities to restart, and thus enabling some categories of people to return to work. For now, the sectors include primarily agriculture, construction, infrastructure, certain industries, and related services. It is important to note that activities that bring together larger numbers of people are still not allowed: no educational institutions are permitted to reopen, be they kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, vocational schools, or universities and institutes. So the online system continues. As a consequence, the campus Montessori School will remain closed for the time being. 

Following the new guidelines, the campus health center will remain open until 4:00 pm, rather than 3:00 pm. This loosening of restrictions is a sign that the government is optimistic about the situation, but we urge caution as the increase of infections has yet to slow down, much less to reverse, here in Kazakhstan.

The various bodies of national and city governments continue to revise rules and recommendations in response to a rapidly changing situation. 

NU Management is trying to keep up with the situation as it evolves, and we will continue to communicate what we know as soon as we can. In order not to err on the side of caution which has been important to stay a virus-free campus, NU is interpreting the guidance that we receive with a bias toward strictness. NU will be enforcing the following guidelines until further notice.  

Rules for Campus access, and movement within Campus:

1. ID checks are in place to prevent unauthorized outside people from entering the campus. Please carry ID at all times and display it so it is visible to security personnel;

2.  Please follow physical distancing rules when going shopping or when outside, groups should not be forming to socialize and play together; and you should maintain a minimum of 1.8m distance with anyone you encounter;

3. Everyone including children should wear masks when outside;

4. Movement on and off-campus is strictly prohibited between 8:00 pm and 7:00 am;

5.  Sheltering-in-place continues except for those authorized to go to work, to shop for groceries, to visit pharmacies, to retrieve deliveries, to dispose of garbage, or for emergency situations;

6.  Children are allowed to be outside for 30 minutes per day within 500 m of home.  All minors must be accompanied by a parent any time they are outside;

7. Dogs may be taken for short walks for up to 30 minutes within 1 km of home between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm. Please do not feed stray dogs;

8. Dogs may also be walked between 10:00 and 10:15 pm, strictly for sanitary purposes. Campus Security will keep an eye;

9. Restaurant delivery hours have been extended up to 22:00. Deliveries arriving after 19:00 but before 22:00 may be received at the gate to NU. If you expect the arrival of a delivery between 19:00 and 22:00, please inform the Reception of your building. You may go to the gate to take the delivery as long as you do not leave campus;

10.  Gathering places and parks continue to be off-limits, which includes the exercise and all playground areas on Campus;

11.   Jogging, strolling, cycling, and other exercise continues to be prohibited outside.

 

Additionally, we will make some more changes to try to improve life on campus as much as possible.

  1.  This week, we will try to provide coin exchange on campus so that you can use the water dispenser in Block 38. Modalities will be announced;
  2. We are working on improving the translations of the various Government and Akimat regulations; we appreciate your patience as we rush to get information out as quickly as possible;
  3. Residents of campus who do not speak Russian or Kazakh well may request assistance in ordering food or medicine.  Furthermore, to facilitate the delivery of goods ordered online, you can find suggestions at the Reception of your building.

Once again we thank everyone for your mutual support and cooperation. This is a truly unusual time and we are all struggling together. We will update you once again when we have new information.