Task forces map out prospects for quarantines, class cancellations as schools brace for virus spread
A team from the University of Rochester Medical Center gathered in late February for a drill: What would the hospital do if someone showed up presenting with symptoms of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus?
The group went through the steps: Masks on. Get the patient into an isolation room. Rule out other possible causes. Notify county and state health officials.
Now, the student health center is setting up a similar planning session.
There have been no suspected cases of Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus, at the University of Rochester. But the school, with more than 12,000 students in western New York state, knows it might not stay that way.
“We need to really get on top of things early,” said Dr. Ralph Manchester, vice provost and director of University Health Service, the student health center.
Colleges and universities across the U.S. are updating pandemic protocols in anticipation of potential widespread outbreaks of the fast-moving virus. They have a unique challenge that can’t be addressed by setting work-from-home policies, the way companies can. On campuses, thousands of students live in close quarters, with communal bathrooms and dining facilities.