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Health and Wellness

Mar. 12, 2020 – Updates on travel policies for Faculty, Staff, Graduate and Professional Students and Postdocs

Posted by on Thursday, March 12, 2020 in Community Messages.

Due to the recent Presidential Proclamation on international travel, we are reminding you of our existing policies and also providing some updates to continue being pro-active in our COVID-19 prevention measures for our community.


All university-sponsored international travel, including travel to Canada and Mexico, is restricted (effective March 10).

  • Travel to State Department Level 4 countries was restricted on February 14.
  • Travel to CDC Level-3 countries was restricted on February 25.

All university-sponsored domestic travel is restricted (effective March 12).

We strongly encourage everyone to postpone all non-essential personal travel.

These restrictions are in place through at least April 30.

Exceptions to these university policies may be requested by contacting your dean or vice chancellor. Granting of exceptions to the travel restrictions require a reasoned consideration of all factors.

Any individual returning from international travel (either university-sponsored or personal) must self-isolate for 14 days before returning to campus and gain approval from your supervisor for working remotely.

University-sponsored travel includes any travel covered by or reimbursable from university funds or extramural grant funds.  This includes travel by faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, students or visitors.

Please remember:

  • Vanderbilt’s campus is open, and we are focused on providing a supportive, safe environment.
  • Preventive measures such as washing hands, extra cleaning of public areas and practicing social distancing are effective safeguards against contracting or spreading the disease.
  • Any individual who may have been in contact with someone who has been infected by COVID-19 or who exhibits symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection should also self-isolate and notify the university in order to receive healthcare monitoring and support. For additional information on how to gauge your risk of COVID-19 infection, see the CDC website. 
  • The university continues to take multiple actions in alignment with public health guidelines to keep the university healthy and prevent the spread of illness. These actions include
    • Twice-a-day cleaning of high-touch areas, such as doorknobs, elevator buttons, etc
    • Installation of additional free-standing hand sanitizing stations across campus
    • Disinfected childcare centers and other high-touch university facilities