Our approach
Given the public health safety measures required in response to COVID-19, the University of Ottawa has adapted its activities since the beginning of the pandemic and continues to do so.
Naturally, we are still prioritizing the basic principles that have guided us since the start of the pandemic, namely our commitment to the health and safety of the University community along with the continuity of our activities.
Latest update on COVID-19
Considering the continued improvement of the COVID-19 situation in Ontario and in Ottawa-Gatineau, the University of Ottawa will suspend masking requirements on campus effective June 1. Note that masking will still be mandatory at convocation ceremonies taking place at the Shaw Centre from June 6 to June 10 inclusively. Exceptions to this change will be communicated to you directly by your faculty.
As it is difficult to predict the evolution of the pandemic and the emergence of new variants, this decision could be reversed at any point in the future depending on public health directives or the recommendations of experts.
We strongly urge all members of our community to take every vaccine dose they are eligible for as advised by public health authorities. Although masks will no longer be mandatory, we encourage everyone to do what they feel is safest for them. Please respect everyone’s individual choice. You can assess risk by visiting Ottawa Public Health’s website.
Events on campus
uOttawa employees, professors, and student groups can host events on campus.
Mandatory vaccination
The requirement to be fully vaccinated has been suspended. We continue to strongly encourage you to get fully vaccinated and to get booster doses as soon as you become eligible, in order to protect yourself and the people around you. Based on the recommendation of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and in alignment with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), the province has begun offering third doses (booster doses) of the COVID-19 vaccine to the following populations if at least three months (84 days) have passed since their last dose:
- Individuals aged 18 and over (born in 1971 or earlier);
- Health care workers; (PDF, 393 KB)
- Designated essential caregivers in congregate settings (including long-term care home and retirement home staff and designated caregivers);
- Individuals who received a complete series of a viral vector vaccine (two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or one dose of the Janssen vaccine); and
- First Nation, Inuit and Métis adults (16+) and their non-Indigenous household members.
