Health, Safety and Travel Information
The UT System, in coordination with its campuses and institutes across the state, is providing some general information about disease precautions and travel reimbursement for any work-related travel that might be cancelled due to the disease.
CDC.gov: What to Do if You Are Sick
UT System employees: When to Self-Isolate
At-home Testing
Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.
Order your tests now so you have them when you need them.
Health and Safety
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers guidance on:
- How to Protect Yourself
- Symptoms and Testing
- What to Do If You Were Exposed
- When to Isolate
- What to Do if You Are Sick
- Caring for Someone at Home
Faculty experts at the UT Health Science Center also have compiled answers to frequently asked questions regarding COVID-19.
Stress, Grief and Trauma
We recognize that our employees and teams are going through a great deal right now and we want to continue to provide additional support and resources to assist you.
Additional Resources
Information and strategies in following downloads form OPTUM, our EAP provider may help you cope with stress, grief and trauma in your home and workplace:
- Things to Remember about Trauma (PDF)
- How to Help When You Don’t Know What to Say (PDF)
- Coworkers Facing Grief Together (PDF)
- Strategies to Cope with Grief (PDF)
Travel
Essential domestic travel is allowed. The president, chancellors, UT System agency heads and senior leadership will determine process and definition of “essential business travel” for their area.
The Centers for Disease Control has posted risk assessment levels and FAQs for travelers on a dedicated website→.
The CDC is currently recommending U.S. citizens to delay international travel until they are fully vaccinated, and has guidelines posted on its website.
In addition, conferences and events have been cancelled all over the country due to the coronavirus. If you have been affected, see the below for steps that you need to take:
- Out of Pocket Expenses: The University will reimburse employees all out of pocket expenses associated with a trip that has been cancelled due to this virus. This includes airfare, hotel cancellation fees, conference registrations and any other pre-paid items. Process these through the travel system, mark them as an exception and indicate in the notes that the trip was cancelled due this virus and you will be reimbursed.
- Expenses Paid Directly by the University: For travel paid directly by the University make sure that any refunds for prepaid items such as conference registrations are credited back to the University.
- Cash Advances: Any unused cash advances must be promptly repaid to your campus business office. If a cash advance has been requested but not received for a cancelled trip, contact your campus business office immediately so that they may cancel this request.
- Airfare: Unless your flight was cancelled by the airlines, a refund will typically not be available. The ticket, however, can be used for future business travel for one year from the date that the ticket was purchased. Depending on the issue date, the airlines might also waive the change fee. The future trip doesn’t have to be in the name of the initial traveler, but the airlines may charge a fee for changing the name. The University’s travel agency, World Travel Services can assist with this. They can be contacted at 877-210-8189. No action is needed on your behalf until you are ready to rebook a business trip. If the ticket was not purchased through World Travel, you will need to contact the airline directly to reuse these tickets. These unused tickets may not be used for personal use.
Employees are encouraged to follow the lead of the campus leadership for more specific local guidance. If you have additional questions, contact the System Accounts Payable Office at 1-877-210-8189.