COVID-19 Weekly Update graphic. Aubrie Rice // Publicity Center
Updated as of: March 20, 2020 at 10:39 a.m.
Updated on March 24, 2020 at 9:21 a.m. to replace AS Review logo with COVID-19 graphic for featured image.
By Stella Harvey
Westen announced all spring quarter classes and instruction will move online in a larger social distancing effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to a March 19 campus advisory from President Sabah Randhawa. Spring quarter is set to begin on April 6, a week later than originally scheduled, and ends on June 12.
According to the advisory, administrators are reviewing all spring quarter student fees, and will send out more information about adjusting charges before March 25. What was originally scheduled as the first week of spring quarter will now be a prep-week for faculty. Professors are encouraged to communicate with their students and make arrangements to teach their classes online.
On March 19, the Whatcom County Health Department reported that a man in his late 60s died after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. This is the first death in Whatcom County related to COVID-19. As of March 19 at 10:30 a.m., there have been seven confirmed cases of COVID-19, including one Western student, and 220 negative test results in Whatcom County, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
According to a campus advisory on March 16, a female Western student in her 20s, who lives off-campus in Bellingham, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The news came after a campus advisory on March 13 that a construction worker working on Western’s new residence hall tested positive for the virus. The construction worker lives in Snohomish County and is not one of the seven cases confirmed in Whatcom County.
There are 1,376 total cases of COVID-19 in Washington State and 74 deaths connected to the virus, according to the Washington State Health Department as of March 20 at 10:30 a.m.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 is a disease caused by a new respiratory virus that spreads through person-to-person contact. First appearing in Wuhan, China, all 50 states in the U.S. have confirmed cases of the virus. There are currently no treatments for COVID-19. While most people will recover on their own, people at higher risk, including older people, pregnant women and those with serious chronic medical conditions, can develop other complications that may require medical care or hospitalization, according to the CDC. While the mortality rate remains unclear due to the rapidly changing situation, COVID-19 seems to have a higher rate than the flu.
According to a campus advisory from Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Melynda Huskey on March 17, there is evidence that the COVID-19 has spread widely throughout Bellingham and Whatcom County. Huskey urged Western’s community to assume that all public areas are exposed to COVID-19, and therefore many people have likely already been in contact with the virus.
In the March 17 campus advisory, Huskey encouraged students, faculty and staff to continue practicing social distancing by staying home as much as possible in order to limit the spread of the virus. Social distancing is widely recommended among national health officials to slow the spread of the virus and to avoid overwhelming the healthcare system, according to new national guidelines released by President Trump.
On March 16, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced a state-wide closure of all restaurants and bars, as well as entertainment and recreational facilities until March 31. As a result, Western announced that the Viking Union, including the AS Bookstore, Carver Academic Facility, Lakewood Watersports Facility and Outdoor Center and Wade King Student Recreation Center are closed until March 31. In addition, Western Libraries closed on March 17 and will be closed through April 5. The Performing Arts Center will be closed beginning on March 21 through April 5.
Governor Inslee also further limited in-person gatherings to 50 people or less. On March 13, Inslee had announced a state-wide restriction of gatherings of 250 people or more, and closed all K-12 public, private and charter schools until April 24.
In a campus advisory on March 18, Huskey said while Western’s Student Health Center can administer the COVID-19 test to students, capacity is still limited and depends on the availability of a lab, specimen collection materials like swabs and viral transport supplies and equipment to protect the person collecting and packaging tests. The Student Health Center is funded by student fees, and therefore, cannot test or provide care to community members or Western employees.
Washington State continues to be one of the states most impacted by COVID-19, alongside New York State.