The Washington Post - 11.03.2020

B2 eZ su the washington post.wednesday, march 11 , 2020

BY DONNA ST. GEORGE

Students who volunteered at a rockville retirement community are not in danger of developing covid-19, officials said amid concerns sparked b y news that a woman who visited the facility tested positive for the disease caused by the c oronavirus. In l etters that went out over t he weekend, principals at robert frost middle School and Thomas S. Wootton High School in montgomery C ounty said school s ystem officials have been in contact with health authorities. Health officials “have shared that individuals from our school community who visited the facility days after the feb. 28 event are not at risk of contracting the virus,” the letters said. “While there is no specific concern for these students, a ll o f our families should remain vigilant with their health and f ollow t he CDC g uidelines and best practices.” No residents or staff members at the Village at rockville had developed symptoms of the coronavirus as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Allison Combs, a spokeswoman for the retirement community. Combs said state health officials have not recommended that people who attended the feb. 28 event — a post-funeral gathering — be quarantined. Those who live at the Village are checked twice a day for symptoms including fever, cough or respiratory troubles, she said. “We feel our community is in a good place,” s he said. The Village, which houses about 350 people, reduced visiting hours and post- poned gatherings and public events through S aturday, s he said. Gov. Larry Hogan (r) announced maryland’s first three coronavirus cases last week — af- fecting a couple in their 70s and a woman in her 50s. other cases in maryland, and in the District and Virginia, were announced in recent days. Some families in montgomery County, with maryland’s largest school system, remained con- cerned a bout s tudents. An online p etition — with m ore than 7,900 names — called on montgomery school officials to urge student volunteers to self- quarantine for 14 days. It also suggested the cancella- tion of student meetings and events that are not urgent, flexibil- ity about s tudent absences related to virus concerns and changes in spring break or other scheduling to “reduce ahead of time the chance of the spread of CoVID-19 in schools.” montgomery school officials sent out a community message monday, emphasizing a low health risk in county schools and providing links to resources. Gboyinde onijala, a school system spokeswoman, said about 25 students from frost volunteered at the retirement community march 4. Wootton students also volunteer there, she s aid. Health officials in montgomery County have not advised closing schools, quarantining students or canceling events, she said. Under state law, t he county health officer decides on school closings during public health crises. [email protected]

Maryland

Student

volunteers

not at risk,

o∞cials say

ery university to prepare for stu-
dents to remain off campus — for
at least two weeks — following
the end of spring break,” Perman
said. “During those two weeks or
longer, all USm universities
should be prepared to deliver
instruction remotely.”
To wson University, in Balti-
more County, which is part of the
system, canceled classes for the
rest of this week and said it will
prepare for remote teaching,
learning and working after the
break.
“When preparing to leave for
spring break, we ask students
take all essential belongings,
medications, and materials from
your residence hall or work space
in case it should become neces-
sary to restrict return access to
campus for at least two weeks,”
To wson said in a statement.
Similar steps are occurring at
several other public maryland
universities, system officials said.
At American University, where
students are on break this week,
Provost Daniel J. myers told fac-
ulty the 14,000-student school

online from B1 will halt in-person teaching and
use virtual classrooms with vid-
eoconferencing and other tools.
“A lthough we are moving instruc-
tion online, the university is cur-
rently remaining open and cam-
pus operations continue as nor-
mal,” myers wrote in a letter
co-signed by Deputy Provost
mary L. Clark.
Students at AU had been
scheduled to return to classes
next monday. But myers and
Clark said the break will be ex-
tended by two days to allow
faculty time to prepare for teach-
ing without the usual face-to-face
lectures and seminars.
“Starting on march 18, all class-
es will need to be taught using
distance methods through
April 3. How exactly this can be
done varies substantially by
course and discipline, and your
schools and colleges will be in
touch with further guidance,” my-
ers and Clark wrote.
“In the meantime, all faculty
members will need to ensure that
the scaffolding is ready for their
move to the online space. The
sooner you can accomplish this,
the better.”

Sylvia m. Burwell, AU’s president and a former secretary of health and human services under President Barack obama, said in a statement on the university website: “While the risk to our community remains low at this time, this could change quickly. our precautionary actions will help limit potential exposure to CoVID-19 and enhance our abili- ty to manage and/or isolate any suspected or confirmed cases that may occur at the university. “A three-week period of online classes will reduce the number of people living in close proximity on our campus, limit interac- tions, and hopefully see reduc- tions in the overall spread of CoVID-19 in the country and the DC region.” Covid-19 is the name for the respiratory illness caused by the virus. older people appear to be sig- nificantly more vulnerable to covid-19 than the younger population enrolled in college. But authorities worry about the potential for the virus to spread on campuses that link local residents with visitors from through-

out the nation and the world. Schools from coast to coast, from Harvard University to the University of California at Berke- ley, have announced major steps in recent days to curtail face-to- face instruction, wreaking havoc on academic routines several weeks before the spring gradua- tion season. Johns Hopkins, a major private research university in Baltimore, said in a statement that it will suspend in-person classes Wednesday and switch to remote instruction through at least April 12. George Washington Uni- versity, in the District, said it will shift to online instruction from march 23 until at least April 5. As o f late Tuesday, t here was no immediate word from prominent Washington-region schools such as Georgetown and George ma- son universities on whether they would change their instructional plans. Some colleges were hesitant to join the move toward online instruction. At Trinity Washington University, which enrolls about 1,000 women in its main under- graduate program, some students

don’t have laptops or easy access to the Internet at home. The university in Northeast Washing- ton serves a significant number of students from low-income areas of the city and Prince George’s County in maryland. “There’s a lot of collateral dam- age to a decision to go online,” said Trinity Washington Presi- dent Patricia mcGuire. “It’s not the preferred way for us to be teaching at all.” She said the school would carefully weigh its response to the outbreak. “Health is number one,” she said. “We don’t want to say, ‘You’ve got to finish your degree above all else.’ You’ve got to stay healthy above all else.” mcGuire said local universities have gained experience with teaching online in emergency sit- uations in recent years following major snowstorms and other events that forced campus clo- sures. “We could do that,” she said. “It’s not impossible for us at all.” [email protected]

susan svrluga contributed to this report.

Some area universities to switch to online classes amid outbreak

the virus, led by Vice President Pence, played on the television screen above. “A ll you can do is take precau- tions and hope you develop im- munity,” said michael Abrams, who said he is a Navy veteran. “This is the modern plague.” Abrams said he was not wor- ried about being infected with the virus. Stanley, the pastor of mount olive Baptist Church in the Dis- trict, asked the men if anyone had a prayer request. Some did. one man wanted prayers for finding a room for rent. Another asked for strength to endure. A third man asked Stanley to pray for those suffering from natural disasters, and those in China, the epicenter of the virus. [email protected]

and encouraging t hem to visit the shower and restroom facilities at the District’s day center, if need- ed, according to Zeilinger. So others might Eat, an inter- faith community organization that provides meals for the homeless, has also given out hand wipes and provided sanitiz- ing stations, said spokeswoman Kate Wiley. The organization has been deep-cleaning its dining room and clinics, she said. At Central Union on monday, a chaplain encouraged a man who coughed in his hands to cough into his elbow. Another employee gave the man a container filled with hand sanitizers. After their dinner of barbecue chicken and candied yams, the men spending the night at the mission waited for chapel ser- vice. A White House briefing on

parishioners and volunteers prepare dinner, according to Pierce. Two other shelters will fill in for Christ Church, Pierce said. T he District has also reported three more cases: A man who was treated in maryland but developed symptoms in the District after traveling there from Nige- ria; a 77-year-old man who had attended the Biogen conference in Boston, which has been con- nected to other cases; and a 79-year-old man for whom no other details were released. The city has increased sanita- tion and hygiene supplies at living and eating locations that serve the homeless in an attempt to stop the virus, said Laura Zeilinger, director of the Depart- ment of Human Services. outreach teams are giving out hand sanitizer to the homeless

the church have also been diagnosed. D.C. mayor muriel E. Bowser (D) on monday encouraged hun- dreds who attended the church on feb. 24 o r between feb. 28 and march 3 to remain home until 14 days have passed since they were in the building. Starting last Sunday, Christ Church was scheduled to host Georgetown ministry Center’s rotating winter shelter for the homeless for three weeks, said Wanda Pierce, the ministry center’s interim executive director. Pierce said the nonprofit learned from Christ Church on Saturday — the same day Cole was diagnosed — that the church couldn’t host the shelter, which rotates among 11 ministries. Homeless men usually spend the night at the churches, where

As the nation copes with the
spread of the novel coronavirus,
which has infected more than
800 people in the United States
and more than 100,000 around
the globe, advocates say the
country’s homeless are an espe-
cially vulnerable population.
Homeless men and women are
generally older, with chronic
health issues and compromised
immune systems, making them
more susceptible to diseases of
all sorts. many don’t have access
to restrooms or facilities to wash
their hands on a regular basis,
which is a key way to prevent the
spread of the virus.
If they become infected, they
don’t have a home in which to
self-quarantine and could possi-
bly infect others housed in home-
less shelters, according to the
Central Union mission.
Shelter staff members have
begun looking for symptoms of
the virus, such as shortness of
breath and fever, when the men
check in, president and CEo
Joseph mettimano said.
“People who are chronically
sick and have compromised im-
mune systems, the regular flu
every year can be deadly, so we’re
watching for those symptoms
anyway,” he said. “But there is an
extra measure of vigilance when
they’re checking in at the front
desk. Because this one is so
strong and problematic that
we’re going to try to keep it
outside the building.”
“once it’s in the building,” he
said, “it can spread very rapidly
in a facility like this.”
The staff now wipes down
doorknobs and other surfaces of
the red-brick converted school-
house near Union Station every
few hours. They’ve posted tips
from D.C. health officials on how
to prevent the spread of germs.
The District’s first confirmed
infection was the rector of Christ
Church Georgetown, the rev.
Timothy Cole, who became sick
after returning from a feb. 22
conference of Episcopal leaders
in Louisville.
Cole has been quarantined at
medStar Georgetown University
Hospital in stable condition, and
two other people affiliated with

homeless from B1

Homeless outreach teams address coronavirus

Jahi Chikwendiu/the washington Post C entral Union mission has posted educational signs about preventing the spread of germs as part of measures to protect the D.C. homeless population from the coronavirus. “once it’s in the building, it can spread very rapidly in a facility like this,” Ceo Joseph mettimano said.

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The Washington Post - 11.03.2020

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