MCCC held an open forum to address the college’s preparedness plan for handling the health, safety and educational needs of students and staff in the event of a Coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency. The forum was led by college President Dr. Jianping Wang and held in the Kelsey Theatre on March 4.
Dr. Wang’s primary message was, “this Coronavirus is a pandemic that is going to happen. [It’s] not whether it is going to happen, but when it is going to happen. The college community will be better served and protected and informed if we get together and talk about it rather than be panicked when it actually happens.”
The forum, which was arranged on short notice, was organized for the purpose of providing knowledge to the campus community of the rise in confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, along with the college’s drafted emergency plan if there were to be an infected individual on campus.
As of March 5, there are 11 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in New York and two in New Jersey according to The New York Times.
According to the college administration, if West Windsor, Mercer County, or NJ declare a state of emergency, the college would begin restricting access to the campus, starting with canceling all non-instructional activities. This includes open houses, performances at Kelsey, and sports and club events.
In the case of an infection on campus, MCCC would shut down and move all courses online.
The draft plan consists of three phases: prevention, containment, and return. The college is currently in the prevention stage and will remain in this phase until told otherwise by the state or by self determination.
In a related note, the administrators said at the forum that the college recently fired its old cleaning company because of an apparent lack of diligence, and has since hired a new one.
One faculty member, Associate Professor of Math Jamie Beth Fleischner asked, “Are we asking [the cleaning crew] to double down their efforts to get us up to speed with cleaning in advance for if something might happen?”
In response, Dr. Wang said “Yes, indeed. They actually sent us over 20 people last night to do just that. It took so long to clean even one bathroom, because of the neglect left by the previous company.”
The virus, which was first detected in China at the end of December 2019 according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has spread rapidly and caused major disruptions to international travel, commerce and daily life. International students and college students studying abroad are facing particular difficulties.
In emails that went out college wide prior to the event, Dr. Wang explained that all NJ colleges were working with the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) and the NJ Department of Health (DOH) to establish plans.
Emails also laid out the directives from the CDC that include basic advice such as washing hands frequently, staying home if you’re sick, and seeking health care in the case of a respiratory ailment.
For all email blasts, the President states students “will get the same information all employees get, almost simultaneously.”
An email on March 3 included a link for a survey asking basic questions about whether anyone on campus had traveled abroad to countries that are seeing high levels of the virus in the past 14 days.
As of March 5 at 8 a.m., 426 students, staff, and faculty have completed the survey. Six said they had traveled to an affected country, 17 have had contact with someone who has traveled to an affected country, and 31 have shared some of the symptoms associated with the virus.
The president indicated that the results of the survey will be updated regularly on Mercer’s Campus Health page on the website, www.mccc.edu/mccchealth, along with more information about the Coronavirus and video of the open forum.
At least 80 countries have had confirmed and presumptive cases of the virus as of this writing, with China and South Korea being the hardest hit according to CNN. Although the virus generally presents similarly to a common cold or flu, an estimated 3,200 people have died from it including 11 in the United States.
Dr. Wang says, “You take good care of yourself. Take good care of your fellow coworkers, your students, your families, your community members by being cautious. You cannot be overcautious. There is nothing more important than your health.”
For more information, you can call the 24/7 hotline offered by the state at 1-800-222-1222. You can also stay informed at nj.gov/health with information updated by the Department of Health and Human Services.
