Other precautions being discussed are the role of McGill's campus security in transporting ill students and the possibility of instituting a flu buddy-system for students to help check up on each other. Wood also added that in the event of extraordiary circumstances, 90 per cent of the McGill IT staff are equipped to work from home in order to facilitate shifting courses online.
"At the IT level there has been a lot of work done to ramp up our ability to deliver courses online, the capacity to record lectures, increase server space … and make full use of the tools that allow us to do education at a distance," said Wood. "One of the many things that will make this pandemic different from those in the past is that we have a lot more technology available to continue doing things and do our work remotely."
The IT department would also play a critical role for students confined to McGill residences, a major priority due to the close-proximity living conditions and the number of international and out-of-province students who would be unable to return home if they became ill.
"We have 3,000 students living in residences and if this becomes a major issue on campus, some of those students will not be able to go home," said Michael Porritt, executive director of residences and student housing. "We are trying to make sure that students know what they can do to take care of themselves."
Plans already in place for residences include a system to deliver meals to students restricted to their dorms, a unique menu for those with small appetites, and an insurance policy to replace staff in case residence workers get the virus. In addition, Dr. Tellier recently conducted an H1N1 seminar with McGill's floor fellows.
Although the PCPG is currently focussing its energy on equipping the university for H1N1, Tellier stressed that flexibility is also a priority. In the event of future pandemics the system could be tweaked rather than revamped.
"The issue is that there are a lot of other bugs coming out and whether they are other viruses in the form of flu, SARS, or a brand new bug that comes along, we know that at some point it will happen," he said. "We need to prepare, we need to have things in place in case this should happen."
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