Dear UT Health San Antonio faculty, staff, students, residents and fellows:
UT Health San Antonio will lift business travel restrictions. Effective immediately, departments can resume normal, pre-pandemic travel protocols.
Domestic Business Travel
Domestic business trips for faculty and staff do not need to be routed to deans and vice presidents for approval. Deans and vice presidents will continue to approve travel for chairs, directors and other department heads as previously required.
International Business Travel
All high-risk business travel must be reviewed and approved by the International Oversight Committee (IOC). In accordance with The University of Texas System Policy 190, all international business travel is considered high risk as long as the pandemic continues. Thus, all international business travel must be approved by the IOC in advance of travel. The IOC will consider the merits of the business trip along with the travel warnings issued by the U.S. State Department, which currently factors prevalent COVID-19 variant and infection rates for individual countries/regions. As a reminder, all approved international business travel for faculty, staff and students must be registered with the Office of International Services.
Travelers are advised to familiarize themselves with domestic and international travel restrictions mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and expected to avoid areas where transmission rates are high or increasing. Effective Dec. 6, 2021, the CDC requires all international travelers to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than one day before travel to the United States, regardless of vaccination status.
Third-Party Sponsored Business Travel
As a reminder, all third-party sponsored business trips, domestic and international, must be disclosed through the iDisclose system.
The health and safety of our employees, students and trainees is our top priority. Due to concerns with emerging COVID-19 variants, travelers are encouraged to exercise caution, be aware of destination health conditions and avoid non-essential travel where possible. As the threat of COVID transmission changes, we will reassess and provide timely updates.
Sincerely,
Andrea Marks
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer