Concerning the Lowering of the BCP Level (July 8, 2021)

Since the incident in which five Akita International University Students became infected with COVID-19 after attending the dance event in Akita City, the university implement measures against the further spread of infection, including transporting all infected students to designated medical facilities in the city, disinfecting all impacted university facilities, and directing all close contacts and contacts (hereinafter Close Contacts) to self-quarantine in a separate location on campus.

As a result, there have been no additional infections detected from Sunday, June 27, onward. Therefore, at the COVID-19 Emergency Headquarters meeting held on Wednesday, July 7, it was determined to lower the university’s Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to Level 3. Restrictions on student, faculty and staff member activities will be as follows:

Self-Quarantine in rooms or apartments for Close Contacts who tested negative for COVID-19 based on the PCR test and the prohibition on entering campus for commuter students will be suspended effective Wednesday, June 7.
Classes may be held in-person, online, or in parallel, but in-person coursework should be limited to the minimum amount required and maximum infection risk prevention measures will be implemented.
Use of designated campus facilities, including the library, will be permitted while giving full consideration to minimizing infection risk.
Student extracurricular activities will only be permitted on campus and at Akita Prefectural Central Park.

Although the university has lowered the BCP level, we remain conscious that highly infectious variants of COVID-19 with increased risk of serious symptoms may be around us at any time and will continue to practice thorough infection risk prevention countermeasures as described in the “Akita International University COVID-19 Infection Risk Reduction Guidelines (Second Edition)” and university announcements, so we would humbly like to ask for the continued patience and understanding of the community.

For more information on AIU’s COVID-19 Response

Please see our dedicated COVID-19 response page for the most up-to-date information.

Monte CASSIM, President
Akita International University