Preparing for Coronavirus?

[hmaria1609]

Earlier today, Gov. Larry Hogan ordered all MD public schools close for 2 weeks. Full coverage and details:
https://wtop.com/coronavirus/2020/03/coronavirus-update-alexandria-records-1st-first-case-loudoun-co-schools-closed-for-more-than-a-week/
Also of note, Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency for the Commonwealth of VA. Mayor Muriel Bower already has done the same for DC.

[namazu]

Earlier today, Gov. Larry Hogan ordered all MD public schools close for 2 weeks. Full coverage and details:
https://wtop.com/coronavirus/2020/03/coronavirus-update-alexandria-records-1st-first-case-loudoun-co-schools-closed-for-more-than-a-week/
Also of note, Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency for the Commonwealth of VA. Mayor Muriel Bower already has done the same for DC.

Likewise, Ohio has closed all public and private K-12 schools from March 17-April 3 (at least).
https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/03/12/order-ohio-gov-dewine-bans-mass-gatherings-more-than-people-during-coronavirus-scare/

There are currently 5 confirmed coronavirus cases in Ohio; the Ohio Department of Health Director estimates that there could be as many as 100,000 infected people in Ohio already.  (Unclear where that number comes from, and I'm skeptical.)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/487329-ohio-health-official-estimates-100000-people-in-state-have-coronavirus

[Anselm]

A student came to class today with a big can of Lysol sticking out his sweatpants pocket.

[clean]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/disneyland-disney-world-universal-studios-hollywood-to-close-due-to-coronavirus/ar-BB116V7z[/quote}


Disney has shut down Disneyland in CA, Disney World in Fl, and suspended Disney Cruise line voyages. 

See, students were expecting that this 'extended spring break' would be full of fun and games!  No cruises, not Disney, no Universal Studios, ....

Here dorms remain open because 'many have no where else to go' if we shut down the dorms.

I think that in the end, the students may well end up being glad to return to campus.

[ergative]

I just got an email from my mother reassuring me of the social distancing precautions she and my father (and grandmother) are taking. She sounds lonely and bored, but that's a heckuva lot better than the alternative.

[science.expat]

I bought beer. I figured I can figure out alternatives to most things. But not beer.

[dismalist]

I love the social distancing precaution. I have wanted to distance myself from the rest of the world since ca. the age of five.

And I have stodkpiled wine, plenty of it.

Avec moi le deluge! :-)

[spork]

I might be stocking up on pita bread this weekend. My wife is complaining that the rice and flour are not "her" foods. She is forgetting about the twelve pounds of coffee beans we now have.

[bento]

My university is going to fully online after an extended spring break.  We are down to 'essential operations' on campus.

So: Our dean has called a general college assembly for Tuesday of next week.  This will include people who have just been traveling to all parts of the nation and world, packing into a lecture hall, to discuss ways we can manage our coronavirus response. 

Somehow this does not sound like the best administrative thinking.  I'm going to predict not great attendance.

[Cheerful]

So: Our dean has called a general college assembly for Tuesday of next week.  This will include people who have just been traveling to all parts of the nation and world, packing into a lecture hall, to discuss ways we can manage our coronavirus response. 

That is bizarre.  Why not do it virtually like most smart places right now?  My campus has had numerous virtual meetings this week.  There is also streaming of meetings to listen but not participate.

[Parasaurolophus]

Classes here haven't been cancelled yet, and I sort of suspect they won't be, although I also suspect the first half of the summer term will be shifted online.

That pretty much suits me, since I didn't feel like slogging in four days a week in the summer. I do hope those summer classes aren't cancelled outright, though, because I can't afford not to be paid all summer. Not with rent what it is in this city.


I am anticipating that exams will be shifted online, however. Which, again, suits me to a certain extent, since that will greatly alleviate my grading burden.

[histlibrarian]

With other similar sized institutions around us shifting to temporary online learning for the next 2-ish weeks, we've done so as well. I think the timing for the announcement could have been better, but oh well.

[nescafe]

I've got a stack of novels I've been meaning to read. Now that our Spring Break travel has been canceled, I guess that's what I'll be doing for the foreseeable future.

[spork]

Word is circulating that some faculty have decided that they simply won't do anything during the weeks that the university has shifted to online instruction, and will just resume following what's in their syllabi when we return for on-campus classes. This assumes we will in fact return to campus for the last few weeks of the semester, which is not certain, and it violates federal and accreditor credit hour standards. Administrators are figuring out ways to hold these people accountable. But it's entirely possible that an adjunct could say "I didn't sign up for this" and just walk away.

[hmaria1609]

Found out today we'll be closing down for 2 weeks. I plan to unplug from work e-mail.  It can wait until I come back to work at the library in April!

Good books are always things to stockpile! And beer and wine :D