In response to the latest announcement by Government in relation to COVID-19 restrictions for Dublin, National College of Ireland has decided that all induction sessions for new and returning students, and all face-to-face scheduled on-campus events will now be delivered remotely.
The campus will remain open. Socially-distanced study spaces in the library and other designated areas will be available to students: it is essential these spaces are pre-booked through the library online system.
However, we remind our students to act within the guidelines of Level 3 that currently apply to the County of Dublin, particularly with respect to travelling in or out of the county. Students must complete our COVID-19 Student Survey before coming on-campus, if you currently have symptoms that may be COVID-19, have been in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, or have returned from a country not on the green list, you must not attend on campus until you have medical clearance to do so or have completed any necessary self-isolation.
The Government has moved Ireland to a plan for Living With COVID, ranging from Level 1 - when transmission and incidence rate is low and it is possible for life to continue within somewhat normal parameters once due attention is paid to social distancing, masks and good hygiene - to Level 5, which is similar to the initial ‘lockdown’ we experienced in March, and hopefully can be avoided through the actions we take now. As of today, most of Ireland is operating on Level 2, however County Dublin is on Level 3.
The College will continue to follow HSE advice and Government direction, and is well-prepared to respond as necessary, whether to increased or decreased restriction, while continuing to provide world-class education and academic and well-being support to our students. Right now, our priority must be the health of our students, staff and the wider community, but It is our intention to safely reactivate our plans for on-campus learning events as soon as County Dublin moves back to Level 2. We will continue to update our FAQs online, and to regularly communicate information directly with students via email and Moodle, so that we can all know where we stand at any given moment, and move forward together.
Working together and adhering to these temporary restrictions will help to contain the spread of the virus, bringing us more quickly back to campus, and contribute to Ireland reaching Level 1 of Living with COVID-19.