COVID-19 Weekly Update graphic. Aubrie Rice // Publicity Center
Updated as of: April 17, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.
By Stella Harvey
In a campus advisory on April 10, President Sabah Randhawa announced that spring 2020 commencement will take place online in order to protect the health of Western’s community during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the campus advisory, students graduating in the spring will receive more information soon.
President Randhawa also announced that all summer study abroad programs and all summer camps and programs that take place at Western over the summer are canceled. Summer quarter classes will also be entirely online, as well as all fall advising and orientation for incoming first-year students. According to the campus advisory, Western’s administration fully expects its campuses to re-open and begin face-to-face classes in fall 2020.
In a campus advisory from April 14, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Melynda Huskey shared a COVID-19 student assistance webpage on the Office for Student Life website. The website includes links to resources for students, as well as a form students experiencing food and housing insecurity can fill out to receive assistance from the university.
The campus advisory also shared the Student Emergency Fund, a fund created through the Financial Aid office which can also assist students who are struggling financially as a result of COVID-19. In the April 14 campus advisory, Huskey also advised students to continue social distancing and self-isolation, and refrain from gathering in groups.
In Whatcom County, there are 271 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus and 25 deaths as of April 17 at 10:30 a.m., according to the Whatcom County Health Department. There have been 11,152 confirmed cases and 583 deaths total in Washington, according to the Washington State Health Department.
On April 13, Washington State Governor Jay Insee, as well as the governors of California and Oregon, announced that Washington, Oregon and California will coordinate their actions in re-opening businesses in the coming months. The states have made an agreement titled the Western States Pact which prioritizes working with local leaders to inform state leadership decisions in an effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic across the West Coast, according to the press release.