March 23, 2020

Dear Colleagues:

We have decided to transition the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) from Moderate Research Restrictions to Severe Research Restrictions, effective today at 5 p.m., in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In sum, as stated in the Basic Science Research policy document issued last week, Severe Research Restrictions means that "we expect that you will curtail all activities not critical to maintaining animals, unique reagents/cell lines and essential equipment, at which point only 2-3 essential personnel (designated by the Principal Investigator) will be allowed in the lab and should be according to a defined employee schedule that ensures appropriate staggering." Further guidance regarding the use of animals in research also will be sent to investigators involved in such research and will add clarity to last week's Use of Animals in Research policy document. As previously noted, all UMB grant support services will continue to operate as is. New grant submissions should continue to be a priority.

UMB is proud to have some of the world's foremost experts in scientific fields most oriented toward fighting this pandemic and must support that work as much as possible. To that end, there will be further guidance regarding specific laboratories that will remain open while under Severe Research Restrictions. In general, these labs are associated with COVID-19 research, virology, and immunology. In addition, we will continue to follow the clinical trials advice given in last week's Clinical Research policy document and look forward to initiating clinical trials related to COVID-19 therapies and prevention in the future.

Thank you for your strict adherence to these new policy guidelines. Your cooperation and support is greatly appreciated and needed at this time of unparalleled challenges.

Sincerely,

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS
Interim President
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Laurie Locascio, PhD
Vice President for Research
University of Maryland