On Sunday, March 8, Hofstra University announced they would be cancelling all in-person classes due to a suspected case of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, in a student. Classes will be cancelled starting Monday, March 9 and will last through spring break, which starts the following week.
This announcement revealed that a student contacted the Student Health and Counseling Center (SHACC) on Sunday, reporting flu-like symptoms after attending a conference where an attendee has tested positive for the coronavirus. In the statement the university claims, “The student is being tested, and is in isolation. In keeping with current state Department of Health directives, six individuals who have been in close contact with this student have also been asked to self-isolate pending the student’s test results.”
The SHACC sent an email on Monday, March 2 notifying the Hofstra community that University-sponsored travel during the spring semester to novel coronavirus affected areas, with a Center for Disease Control (CDC) warning level three and alert level two, are cancelled, effective immediately.
Initially, this travel restriction resulted in the cancellation of the Hofstra Speech and Debate team trip to Japan, where they were to compete in the International Forensics Association tournament. Since the announcement, the study abroad office has confirmed all University-sponsored spring trips have been cancelled. This includes the service learning trip to Puerto Rico, the Hofstra in Cuba program, as well as the Frank G. Zarb School of Business Ghana and London trips.
“We were waiting on bated breath to see what would happen. Hofstra let us know that if the coronavirus approached a level three threat in Japan, the tournament would be over,” said member of the team Jack Dalrymple, a junior film studies and production major. “A week before the trip, Hofstra cancelled our trip and later that day the entire tournament was cancelled.”
“The cancellation has given me momentary relief,” added Dalrymple. “It’s better to be safe than sorry, but I have a feeling this will soon be all of our problems, not just China’s.”
Non-Hofstra spring semester study abroad programs through third party providers are also experiencing suspensions and cancellations of their programs. On March 1, the CDC issued guidance for student foreign travel to institutes of higher education stating they “should consider asking current program participants to return to their home country.”
Maria Fixell, assistant provost for study abroad told The Chronicle that there are currently four Hofstra students studying abroad in Italy, a country where the U.S. State Department has issued a level three travel advisory. Fixell said that all the third party providers are maintaining a constant communication of the status of these programs.
Cerena Garber, a sophomore psychology major, is one of those students who was studying in Florence, Italy through Academic Programs International (API) for the spring 2020 semester.
Garber said initially, there was not much concern about the program when Italy first started to experience the outbreak. It was not until the University of Massachusetts Amherst pulled over 100 students from the program, that all of the API students were notified via that email that their program was suspended due to the level three advisory and that they were expected to make plans to leave Italy by Friday, March 6.
“I am incredibly sad and confused. It’s very frustrating to put so much time into planning this semester just to see it get taken away from me in a day,” said Garber. “There’s very little information as to what is coming in the next few weeks for the program. Mostly, it’s been hard to say goodbye to everyone and realize that while this week has made it feel like we’re all just going home for a break, it’s very unlikely we will get to return.”
“I am currently waiting to get on a flight to take back to my home state where I will wait out the rest of the semester and do online classes,” Garber continued. “We’ve received notice from the CDC that we’re expected to remain quarantined for the next two weeks, so I’m planning on just watching movies and waiting for my online classes to start.”
Vincenzo Lo Cricchio, a sophomore early childhood and childhood education major has been studying in Florence, Italy through the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS). Despite the suspension of his program, he will be staying in Italy, living with his family.
“I feel that the risk of the virus is being exaggerated by the media and that the virus will die down in a few weeks,” said Lo Cricchio. “When the media coverage does die down, I would still like to explore Europe. I shouldn’t let the virus affect my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“I do admit that if I didn’t have my family, I would not feel comfortable staying in Italy, because I would have no support system in a foreign country,” added Lo Cricchio.
Hofstra will announce its official decision on the status of summer study abroad programs on April 1, 2020.
In the March 2 email to the community, the SHACC announced the University has convened a campus-wide Coronavirus Task Force to advise University actions as the virus continues to develop. The task force is made up of nine members who report to University President Stuart Rabinowitz.
The members are as follows: Chair, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Herman Berliner; Senior Vice President for Planning and Administration M. Patricia Adamski; Vice President for Facilities and Operations Joseph Barkwill; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Northwell Health, Vice Dean of the Zucker Medical School Dave Battinelli; Vice President for University Relations Melissa Connolly; Vice President for Student Affairs W. Houston Dougharty; Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs, and General Counsel Dolores Fredrich; Founding Dean of the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies Kathy Gallo; and Assistant Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management Erika Schaub.
As the number of confirmed cases in the United States and New York continues to grow, the University is advising the community to take every day preventative measures to protect one’s health.
“The University is already using enhanced cleaning protocols, including more frequent cleaning in public or high-traffic areas, and our existing hand sanitizing stations are 70% alcohol based,” said University Relations Assistant Vice President Karla Schuster. “In addition to the stand and wall mount sanitizers currently deployed, we have added approximately 50 more hand sanitizer stations across campus, with more on order, and have launched a public awareness campaign on handwashing and other good prevention techniques on posters and signage around campus.”
As of Sunday, March 8, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced New York state has 105 confirmed cases of the novel coro
navirus, five of which are in Nassau County. It has been reported that the first case in Nassau County was a man from Uniondale, Hofstra’s neighboring hamlet.
“A subcommittee of the Task Force has worked to identify facilities and determine procedures related to potential Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) medical care and self-isolation of residential students, if this becomes necessary,” said Schuster. “The use of existing SHACC staff and the Health and Wellness Center facilities will be enhanced to facilitate testing when necessary. The available houses in Colonial Square will be used to house any residential students who need to be self-isolated. Dining services have provided a protocol for how they will support these students.”
Image courtesy of CDC
