Request regarding preventing infection by COVID-19 and limiting the spread of the disease accompanying the start of the Fall Semester

As announced in the "Messages to Keio Students from President Itoh and Provost & Vice-President Kitagawa Accompanying the Start of the Fall Semester of the 2021 Academic Year," 80 percent of Keio students have been vaccinated through our on-site inoculation program. While the vaccine does not completely eliminate the risk of infection, it is consistently effective in significantly reducing its incidence and the likelihood that infection will develop into symptomatic or severe disease. Most Keio Students being fully vaccinated in the run up to the Fall Semester is an important factor in the creation of a new, post-COVID-19 campus life.

The other crucial component is that we continue to maintain our vigilance to date and indeed to step up our efforts in implementing measures to prevent infection and spread of the virus. And while the state of emergency is slated to soon be lifted, the risk of infection has not gone away, and the threat posed by the Delta and Lambda variants, as well as potential new variants, remains ever-present. It is also important to be considerate of those who choose not to vaccinate for various reasons. Just as you have until now, it is paramount that each and every Keio student pay close attention to their surroundings, remain highly alert, and conduct themselves with discipline. This will include remembering to observe infection control measures and refraining from eating in group settings.

Starting this Fall Semester you will spend more time on campus. The campus is an invaluable venue to meet and interact with friends. You may feel tempted to take meals and chat to enjoy time with these friends, but even in our cafeterias, we again request that you take thorough precautions and "dine alone," to mitigate the chance of unguarded conversations with others occurring during mealtimes. This applies to both indoor and outdoor situations.

At the Student Affairs Center, while we will continue to call on all students to take thorough precautions to prevent infection and mitigate the spread of the virus, we will also closely monitor infection levels and take into account overall societal developments, as well as establishing infection control measures and assessing the status of the tools at our disposal, to create a more safe and secure campus. We strongly urge all Keio students to take action to help prevent infection in order to facilitate an enjoyable and fulfilling campus life moving forward.

Thorough prevention of infection by COVID-19 and limiting the disease's spread

Commit to acting so as to "not get infected," and "not infect others."

1. Basic infection control measures
　(1) Wearing a mask (non-woven), and observing cough etiquette
　(2) Thorough hand hygiene (hand washing, alcohol disinfection) and gargling
　(3) Frequent ventilation
　(4) Maintaining physical distance (social distance)
　(5) Avoiding gathering in large numbers and crowded places
　(6) Frequent cleaning and disinfection of places that are touched by a large, unspecifiable number of people
2. Refraining from group meals (eating and drinking while conversing with multiple people)
3. Refraining from eating and drinking in public spaces such as stations, streets, parks, etc.
4. Daily health monitoring such as taking one's temperature, and refraining from activities when unwell

• About Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)Guidelines for infection control at the university and workplace

•"An Encouragement of COVID-19 Measures" (published by the All Keio Student Senate, Keio student representative, in collaboration with volunteers from the School of Medicine) *Japanese Only

•About COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) - Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

What to do if you are infected or suspect you may be so

Please follow the instructions on the following page if you test positive for COVID-19, you suspect you may be infected, you feel unwell, or may have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive. By reporting and taking the appropriate measures quickly, the spread of infections can be prevented. Please have the courage to report to the Health Center and do not hide a suspected infection or neglect to make a report.

•Measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) when feeling unwell　(PDF version can be found here）

Relatively young people, including university students, often have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all when infected, unwittingly spreading the virus to family and friends. This is one of the main factors contributing to the rise in the numbers of severe cases and deaths. Young people may also develop severe symptoms, and there are cases in which even mild conditions lead to serious long-term effects. Please remember that casual actions have the potential to endanger the health and lives of you and your loved ones.