On Aug. 25, the NYU Abu Dhabi administration hosted this year’s first Return to Campus Town Hall. Multiple administrators shared important updates regarding the upcoming semester, particularly in relation to Covid-19 control measures. Here is a summary of the most relevant updates.

As per a government mandate, vaccination is required to be on campus unless one has a medical or a religious exemption. All members of the NYUAD community are expected to comply with the vaccine mandate.

Sinopharm vaccine drives will once again be offered on campus from Aug. 23 to Sept. 30 on weekdays. Those who opt for the Pfizer-BioNTech jab should head to Mina Port themselves. Individuals with student IDs are eligible for a special line. It will be open till the end of October.

All classes will be fully online for the first two weeks of the semester until the end of the add-drop period. After this period, instructors of in-person courses will be informed if they can switch immediately to face-to-face instruction or remain online throughout September, depending on the number of students on campus and their vaccination status. In-person instruction is expected to resume by Oct. 3.

Some classes have been moved fully online for the entire semester in order to accommodate students who cannot travel to campus. Affected students are encouraged to take advantage of these online classes so that they can continue to make progress toward their degrees, though they also have the option of taking a Leave of Absence.

In-person research is permitted and visiting researchers will be allowed on campus. Faculty who wish to travel outside the UAE to green list countries for research and conference purposes will be able to do so, although they must notify the NYUAD travel review committee beforehand. Travel to red list countries will require prior approval.

Abu Dhabi residents will be allowed to commute from home. Students can now also stay off campus overnight and travel to other emirates.

Travel to other countries during breaks, including those on the green list, remains strongly discouraged.

Community members are allowed to gather in groups of up to 10 people. Sports teams can also recommence training under this limit, though intercollegiate competitions remain suspended.

Social distancing measures will continue to be observed throughout campus, with a minimum of a one metre distance allowed between individuals in classrooms, labs and the gym and two meters in the dining hall, library, conference rooms, offices and workstations.

Masks must be worn at all times in classes and should only be removed when drinking beverages. For contact tracing purposes, students will also be required to sit in the same seat for every class.

For detailed information, students are highly encouraged to read the Fall 2021 Return to Campus Guide.