BLACKSBURG, Va. – As concerns over the Coronavirus continue, local universities are expanding their efforts to keep college students safe and healthy.
On Friday, 10 News asked many universities about their plans in preparation of a potential outbreak.
A Virginia Tech spokesperson said it has many plans in place to react to confirmed cases. It's using its past experiences and working with outside agencies.
Students, who are in close proximity to one another, are paying attention to the developments.
“It’s definitely nerve-racking,” sophomore Robbie Magalong said.
“It is scary that it’s spreading to the U.S. and really fast,” sophomore Hailey Smith said.
If there’s a confirmed case on campus, the university will call the Virginia Department of Health and follow its guidelines, according to spokesperson Mark Owczarski.
The university has had plans in place for decades. Now, it's holding daily meetings to stay prepared.
“When it comes to a crisis plan, or an emergency plan, it lays out bits and pieces that you can take from depending on what you’re dealing with, so, for example, closing down the campus -- well, we’ve actually done that before,” Owczarski said.
That includes the 2007 mass shooting and bad snow storms. Past flu and SARS outbreaks also draw similarities, Owczarski said.
Virginia Tech is keeping its students and staff up to date with a web page.
10 News asked schools across our region about their plans.
A Radford University spokesperson confirmed the school has a plan in place. It will keep its students and staff updated with a web page. Officials say they’re closely monitoring the virus.
“The health and safety of our campus community are of the utmost importance. As a campus, we are continuing to follow guidance of the CDC, as well as state and local health officials, as we evaluate conditions, make decisions for both long-term and short-term impacts on people, programs and processes, and provide updated information regarding COVID-19,” a spokesperson said.
Roanoke College has a crisis management team and protocols in place for all potential emergencies, a spokesperson said. It’s actively monitoring developments and has a web page that will have updates.
The school is emphasizing disinfecting surfaces around campus.
When asked if there are any plans in place for quarantines, evacuations, or switching traditional classes to online, a spokesperson said, “all potential scenarios in are being planned for by the Roanoke College crisis management team.”
The following is the response from a VMI spokesperson:
“VMI has had a pandemic plan in place since 2006 and has undergone multiple revisions since that time. Our task force has been meeting regularly for several weeks while VMI emergency management and medical officials remain in constant communication with their local, regional and state counterparts. It would be inappropriate to comment on hypothetical situations right now, however, VMI does have the capability to conduct classes remotely.”
The following is the response from a Washington and Lee spokesperson:
“At Washington and Lee University, we have convened an Emergency Operations Group, composed of representatives from university facilities, student health, public safety, communications, academic affairs, information technology services, dining services and student affairs. That group is meeting regularly to review and update plans for the university’s response as news of the virus changes. Its decisions are guided by our commitment to guarding the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff. We consult and follow the guidance from the Virginia Department of Health, national experts on public health and infectious disease at the CDC, and from the U.S. State Department. As of now, there are no plans to cancel classes or evacuate campus. We are monitoring the situation closely, planning accordingly, and continuing to communicate regularly with our campus community.
The following is the response from an Averett University spokesperson:
“Averett University continues to proactively follow updates around the outbreak of COVID-19. The university has an Emergency Response Team in place, which oversees preparation and implementation of all emergent situations. In addition, Averett has a more specifically focused Communicable Disease Committee, comprised of representatives from all areas of university operations. The teams are monitoring the outbreak in coordination with state and local health departments and meeting regularly to discuss processes and protocols around any type of disease outbreak on campus or affecting the Averett and surrounding communities. In the university’s Emergency Response Plan, the team has outlined a large number and vast array of potential crises and some steps in response to them, including pandemic and communicable disease.”
On plan details:
“This is an ongoing, very fluid situation that is constantly changing. Our teams are very agile in order to respond to quick changes in these sorts of situations. We are meeting in-person very regularly, and communicating several times a day via email and phone calls to ensure all remain updated on the most recent status updates; the same can be said for our plans. While they serve as a blueprint for response, we know components of every situation will differ from another, so we are continually adapting and working to improve our plans and develop our teams.”
On quarantine protocol:
“Averett is working toward formalizing how quarantines could be handled in response to COVID-19, should that be necessary. These situations are very fluid and extremely complex, with many variables to consider.”
On the possibility that in-person classes would be switched to an online format:
“Averett is already a leader in online and adult education, so many courses we offer are already online or contain a hybrid component of online and on-ground instruction. The teams have identified all in-person courses which may be adapted for alternative learning methods, and is working closely with instructors and IT to ensure this capability should we need to employ such measures.”