Starting immediately, we are now required to screen participants for infectious symptoms. Please contact all your participants and let them know they should not come (and to advise us) if they have or recently had one or more of the following symptoms:
Cough
Fever or chills
Shortness of breath
Difficulty breathing
We will also have to ask them when they arrive. (There is a printed questionnaire (278.1 KB) where the OMEGA consent forms are, but we don’t have to fill it.)
If they answer yes to any of the symptoms:
Have them wear a mask: report this immediately to Angie Broccoli at the Director’s office, extension 1238, who can supply us with a mask when needed.
Ask them the second question.
If they answer yes to the second question:
Info-Santé at 811 should be advised and consulted on next steps.
Following the announcement that all non-essential research activities are cancelled until further notice, we have decided to warm up the MEG system to save on helium costs and minimize in-person interventions on the premises.
We will also seize this opportunity to schedule the system’s maintenance visit as soon as access restrictions are lifted. (Note that this maintenance should include the replacement of defective sensors and therefore correct the increased noise that has been preset in a few sensors for over a year.)
The implication is that the MEG system will be down a few more weeks beyond strictly required by the pandemic response measures, but we will strive to minimize downtime and negative impact on research projects. For instance, current Infinity subscribers will see their access period extended for the duration of the MEG system downtime.
We are, as always, available if you have questions or concerns.