The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) established the ‘Notices for Social Distancing’ in order to decrease the risk of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) community transmission. Although schools can have flexibility regarding ‘Specific People Gathering Occasions’ that are included in the aforementioned notices, they still need to take into account requirements for the prerequisites of specific people, air ventilation, and distance. To decrease the chance of infection and spread on campus, faculty and students should still maintain regulated social distancing, and masks should be worn when distancing cannot be maintained. Schools should determine ‘Specific People Gathering Occasions’ using the strictest standards, where participating faculty and students should have fixed seats and attendance records can be maintained. Once close contact or conversation occurs, a mask should be worn immediately.

In order for schools to respond appropriately, quickly, and accurately to the development of the epidemic, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has established the ‘Guidelines for University and College Preventative Measures against COVID-19’. In addition, the MOE will continue amending the content of these guidelines according to the latest development of the epidemic in order to provide a foundation for all schools to follow. Moreover, to remind schools to pay attention to the epidemic preventative measures in their dormitories, the MOE has used the aforementioned guidelines as the central reference to draft the attached ‘College and University Dormitory Epidemic Prevention Guidelines’. The summary of these guidelines are as follows:

• The Principles of Dormitory Arrangements

In order to deal with reported, suspected, or confirmed cases on campus, schools shall not only investigate if dormitories have been reserved for overseas students to conduct ‘home quarantine’, but also arrange dormitories as ‘isolation dormitories’ and ‘reassurance dormitories’ in advance. In the event of confirmed cases, schools should comply with the following principles to firstly make arrangements for faculty and students before conducting campus sterilization and sanitation:

1. For faculty and students not required to conduct home quarantine: return home or move to a reassurance dormitory.
2. For faculty and students required to conduct home quarantine:

a. For domestic faculty and students in our nation and overseas students with friends or relatives they can depend on in Taiwan, they shall return home for home quarantine according to the transportation specifications announced by the CECC.
b. For overseas students required to conduct home quarantine who are renting off-campus or are without friends or relatives they can depend on in Taiwan, schools shall arrange for them to move into an isolation dormitory.

• All dormitory residents should follow the arrangements according to the aforementioned guidelines before moving into the dormitory. Public areas and dormitory rooms shall be sterilized and sanitized.
• General/Reassurance Dormitory Management Measures

1. Schools should confirm whether the dormitory residents have completed a ‘Self-reporting Health Care Form’ or a ‘Health Certificate’ before moving into the dormitory.
2. Schools should conduct preventative measures on a regular basis after residents have moved into the dormitory, such as entry and exit access controls, body temperature measurement, specific personnel to care for residents, health education promotion, supplementary preventative materials, and sterilization and sanitization.
3. Schools should fully implement dormitory entry and exit access controls and ensure ‘Self-reporting Health Care Forms’ or ‘Heath Certificates’ are filled out. Parents, suppliers and visitors are forbidden to enter the dormitory unless it is absolutely necessary. Those who come for work-related matters should be fully registered. Non-residents must adhere to the relevant regulations of the school dormitory management and are not allowed to stay overnight without permission. Logistics personnel and delivery personnel will have a designated location to collect and receive merchandise, preventing frequent access by external personnel jeopardizing the implementation of epidemic preventative measures.
4. Dormitory residents should keep their hands clean and pay attention to respiratory tract hygiene and cough etiquette.
5. Dormitory residents should keep to the regulated distance of 1.5 meters indoors according to the ‘Notices for Social Distancing’ announced by the CECC. In addition, dormitories should maintain appropriate air ventilation, conduct entry and exit registration control measures, and dormitory residents should immediately wear masks when in close contact and talking.

• Home Isolation/Quarantine Dormitory Management Measures

1. To comply with government policy, if overseas students are required to conduct home quarantine upon their return to schools in the future, schools can dispatch a reserved car to the airport, students can also take an epidemic prevention taxi, or can ask their relatives or friends to deliver them to the schools. In addition, the dormitory arrangements should be one room per person.
2. All dormitory residents shall adhere to the relevant regulations concerning the living arrangements of quarantine dormitory residents and sterilization and sanitization in accordance with the guidelines.
3. After the completion of home isolation/home quarantine, the school must implement a final round of sterilization and sanitization, especially for frequent-contact equipment such as toilets, doorknobs, and switches (Sterilization and sanitization for general/reassurance dormitories shall be done in the same manner).

Please contact the following persons for any inquiry about this case:

• Department of Higher Education: Ms. Shuzhen Chiu, 02-7736-6304, susan201907@mail.moe.gov.tw
• Department of Technological and Vocational Education: Officer, Zhaoyuan Xu, 02-7736-6072, a620220@mail.moe.gov.tw