COVID-19 Update: Further Travel and Event Cancellation Guidance

As we continue to respond to COVID-19, we want to take a brief moment to share a few of the proactive steps that the Smithsonian has taken.

Beyond closing the museums to the public and enacting enhanced telework protocols, here are a few additional changes to be aware of:

1) Restricting International Travel: All Smithsonian international travel is cancelled through May 3, 2020. Although unlikely, a mission-critical international trip may be approved if it has a clear connection to human or animal collection safety. Requests for exceptions shall be sent from the Unit Director to the Smithsonian COVID-19 Coordinating Team.

2) Restricting Domestic Travel: All Smithsonian domestic travel is restricted to mission- essential activities through May 3, 2020. Mission-essential travel must be reviewed and approved by Unit Directors and shall not include activities such as routine training, conference attendance, speaking engagements, meetings (that may be managed virtually) or other related activities.

3) Canceling in-person public programs and internal programs: All Smithsonian events, and public and internal programs have been canceled through May 3, 2020. Travel and events (both scheduling and canceling) need to be coordinated well in advance. By choosing date a month and a half in the future, we’re giving time to assess how COVID-19 is spreading and allowing time to smartly reschedule in a way that is safe for those attending and working our events.

We are continuing to develop plans and procedures regarding COVID-19 and will keep communicating those items with you as they become available. Please visit https://sinet.sharepoint.com/sites/COVID-19 to stay up to date. If you have any questions, please email si-coronavirusinfo@si.edu.

Mission Critical: Events or travel are necessary for the continued survival of a portion of SI operations, infrastructure, critical to life and safety of persons or species, or research. Without these events or operations, this portion of the Smithsonian mission would irrevocably fail.

Mission Essential: Events or travel that the Smithsonian relies on to carry out business operations. If these operations are interrupted or fail, the Smithsonian would face significant financial losses, losses of relationships, or research severely damaging the ability to maintain facilities, projects, and accomplish the mission of the Smithsonian.

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