Bulletin No. 1, 2020

14 Chinese University Bulletin No.1, 2020 Business Not As Usual Among other things, the workplace is an aspect of our lives that has been upended by the coronavirus. To prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 on campus by minimizing human contact, the University announced on 28 January special work arrangements for parts of its staff to work from home after the Lunar New Year holiday. Although the University tried to resume normal operation gradually from 2 March when the first wave of infections showed signs of relenting, special work arrangements were reinstated from 23 March as the second wave was set off by overseas residents returning home. It was not until 4 May, when the situation was beginning to stabilize in Hong Kong, that the University started to bring back its full workforce. But two months later as new cases surged again, staff members whose work permits offsite handling were not required to return to office. CUHK employees who carried out their duties from home were assisted by tools such as Office 365 for sharing files and documents, VPN for remote access, and Zoom for video-conferencing. Academic, administrative and professional staff worked hard on and off campus to keep things going while holding the outbreak in check on campus. Even when the campus was devoid of its usual hustle and bustle, stringent social distancing measures were observed in all communal areas, study rooms and hostel pantries. Except for emergencies and activities essential to the operation of the University, all forms of activity and social gathering among students and staff on campus were kept to a minimal level to prevent infection. Photo by ISO Photo by amytam@cuhkimages