For the past several weeks Tyndale has been monitoring the COVID-19 situation. We know members of our community are concerned. Precautionary measures to protect the health of our community have already been put into effect. We continue to follow the advice of Ontario Health, who are making decisions as new information and circumstances arise. We continue in our hope to move through the final weeks of the semester without disruption and to give students the optimum educational experience.
The situation is now accelerating very rapidly. Two days ago, the World Health Organization determined that COVID-19 has reached the level of a global pandemic. Yesterday, among many other developments in Canada, the Ontario government announced that all public schools will remain closed for two weeks following the March break. Our staff, faculty and students with families are having to scramble to deal with this unexpected decision.
After careful consideration of all the developments over the past days, Tyndale has made the following decisions:
- All in-person classes in the undergraduate and seminary programs will no longer meet in-person and we will provide teaching by other means (which may include recorded, online or live-stream platforms).
- On-campus classes on Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17 are suspended and will resume on Wednesday, March 18 at their usually scheduled times through alternative delivery methods.
- This decision is effective for the remainder of the semester.
- Tyndale university operations continue and the campus remains open.
- The library, residences, food services, offices, the Henderson Fitness Centre and other spaces such as lounges on campus remain open. The gym will be closed.
- Worship and seeking God together are hallmarks of our community. We are working on plans to continue a weekly chapel that will be available by live stream. Details will follow.
Plans are now underway to move courses to alternative instruction methods in order to complete the semester. An email will follow with clear instructions of how to proceed with classes. Please hold your questions until you receive that email.
The Critical Incident Protocol Team has been initiated and meets regularly. This team is monitoring and continues to evaluate the situation on a daily basis.