After having been first identified last December as a minor epidemic in Wuhan, China, the novel coronavirus—or COVID-19, as it’s known to scientists—has since sickened more than 92,700 people and killed around 3,000. With dangerous swiftness, it has spread from China to neighboring countries, the Middle East, and the United States, and might soon infect dozens of more countries, prompting public health officials to react with extreme seriousness to the now pandemic.
Fear of the novel coronavirus, a disease that the World Health Organization said on Tuesday is deadlier than the seasonal flu but does not transmit as easily, has in recent weeks crept into the minds of leaders at Stevens.
Nariman Farvardin, President of Stevens, said this week in a campus-wide email that the university takes the threat of the novel coronavirus very seriously. “The health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors are our highest priorities,” he wrote.
If the threat of the coronavirus becomes so severe that the health of Stevens community members is at risk, the university is prepared to cancel or postpone community events, restrict study-abroad activities and international travel, and do whatever else necessary to keep people safe, Farvardin wrote.
Farvardin added that Stevens is strictly following guidelines put in place by the Center for Disease Control and the New Jersey Department of Health. No person is allowed to travel on behalf of Stevens to countries with significant outbreaks — specifically, China, South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Iran. Travel on behalf of Stevens to other countries with a large number of infected people—Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Hong Kong—must be first approved by administrators.
In another campus-wide email sent at the end of February, administrators said that anyone who goes to a significantly affected country for personal reasons cannot return to campus for 14 days.
Members of the Stevens Emergency Management Team have met regularly to discuss emergency plans and are updating those plans, and Stevens’ Business Continuity Planning Committee is accelerating its activities for a possible COVID-19 scenario.
Samantha Molla, President of the Student Government Association, said in an interview that she and her cabinet are “just as concerned as the university” about the threat of the novel coronavirus. “In the event that campus were to close or the school wanted to take extra precaution, it is possible that we would ask RSOs to hold what they can online and potentially cancel in-person events.”
Some student organizations have already been affected. The Chinese Student Association’s Dim Sum Night had to be canceled because of a large anticipated attendance. “That Dim Sum night will need to be canceled due to the high numbers of anticipated attendees,” Liliana Delman told the leadership of the student organization.
More updates are expected to come out from the University as more news about the novel coronavirus is released.
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