Hazard Guidelines

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Information

UTS Procedures and Information for Staff and Students

Enhanced surveillance for SARS, within Australian States and Territories, ceased in May 2004. Surveillance of the global situation continues.

Guidance on the surveillance of SARS is issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and advice on SARS, including the main symptoms and the areas most recently affected is available from the Australian Department of Health and Ageing website.

The WHO maintains a web page summarising WHO measures related to international travel, with respect to the SARS virus.

• Advice to staff and students
• UTS procedures regarding travel to affected countries
• UTS procedures regarding returning from affected countries
• General information on SARS
• Contact
• Resources

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Advice to staff and students

The University strongly recommends that staff and students follow the advice of the expert agencies regarding travel and any precautions required if returning from an affected area. Although there has been a large international focus on this disease, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing states that the risk of contracting SARS is low. Importantly, most respiratory infections in return travellers including those from the above affected areas, will not be SARS.

The EHS Branch will continue to monitor and respond to the information from the NSW Health Department, the Department of Health and Ageing, DFAT and the WHO. The UTS community of staff and students is diverse and well-travelled. Within the SARS context, the University continues its commitment to provide a work and study environment in which everyone is respected and treated fairly, and which is free from discrimination and harassment. Equity-related enquiries can be made to the Equity and Diversity Unit.

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UTS procedures regarding travel to affected countries

UTS requires staff and students to check the DFAT's travel advisory web site, smartraveller.gov.au, before travelling to establish if there are any contra-indications for travel to their planned destination.

Staff or students wishing to travel to or remain in those countries affected by SARS on UTS business must justify their reasons and obtain explicit approval from their Dean/Director, as per the UTS Travel application/approval process.

Risk management is integrated into the UTS travel application/approval process. See the Travel Safety and Security web page for the travel guidelines, interpretation of DFAT advice, application forms and checklists for staff and students.

As per the NSW Health Department information, "Travellers to affected areas should avoid people who are obviously sick or coughing. They should monitor themselves for fever, cough and breathing difficulty and seek medical attention if these develop."

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UTS procedures regarding returning from affected areas

UTS requires staff and students returning from SARS-affected locations to follow the advice of the Health Professionals at Australian international airports and the border authorities.

Staff and students are also required to follow the guidelines for 'Entering work, school, conferences or other facilities (workplaces) after arriving from a SARS affected area' (PDF document, 123 Kb) from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

The University is following the advice of the NSW Health Department, that is, "in general terms, there is no requirement for people who have been to an affected area and remain well to exclude themselves from work." The exceptions noted relate to health care workers and people planning elective surgery.

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General Information on SARS

The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing advises the risk of contracting SARS is very low. SARS has almost exclusively been transmitted from cases to close personal contacts such as family, close friends or health care workers.

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Contact

Further enquiries should be directed to the EHS Branch on extension 1326 or 1062 or the UTS Health Service on extension 1177.

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Resources

The following websites have up-to-date information about the SARS outbreak, including information about the disease, its transmission and the areas affected.