Vanderbilt shutting down due to coronavirus.

[katmai]

All classes have been cancelled this week, and all classes after that will be online, at least until April. All non-athletic events are being cancelled, so at least baseball games haven't been impacted yet.

[commadore]

Absolutely insane over reaction.

[dcdore]

Absolutely insane over reaction.

Agreed. At least for now. I haven't canceled my flight to Nice late April (yet).

[commadore]

Absolutely insane over reaction.

Agreed. At least for now. I haven't canceled my flight to Nice late April (yet).

Nor have I for my May Alaska Cruise.

[historybill]

What I don't understand is this: How does having class or not having class make any difference? The students are still living together in dorms, using communal bathrooms, having lunch at the same cafeteria. By canceling class it isn't as if they are making sure that the students are all secluded in the woods, each in their individual tents.

[dcdore]

What I don't understand is this: How does having class or not having class make any difference? The students are still living together in dorms, using communal bathrooms, having lunch at the same cafeteria. By canceling class it isn't as if they are making sure that the students are all secluded in the woods, each in their individual tents.

I agree this seems somewhat over the top, but with this illness, the best approach is no contact. Next best is reduced contact. Maybe, this will reduce contact within the VU community and send the message to further reduce contact within and without the community.

[katmai]

What I don't understand is this: How does having class or not having class make any difference? The students are still living together in dorms, using communal bathrooms, having lunch at the same cafeteria. By canceling class it isn't as if they are making sure that the students are all secluded in the woods, each in their individual tents.

I think the expectation is that many of the students will go home to avoid contact. The dorms will remain open because not everyone can easily go home, but there will be reduced services. It's really a no-win situation. The story is that there were as many as 50 students that were in Spain, and one tested positive after they returned from break. If it is highly contagious, it is easy to imagine a scenario where a significant number of that group of 50 might have it, and unchecked, it could spread throughout the entire university rather quickly. It may be overboard, but if that scenario happened and Vanderbilt did nothing to address it, then the administration would have to answer for that.

[commadore]

What I don't understand is this: How does having class or not having class make any difference? The students are still living together in dorms, using communal bathrooms, having lunch at the same cafeteria. By canceling class it isn't as if they are making sure that the students are all secluded in the woods, each in their individual tents.

I think the expectation is that many of the students will go home to avoid contact. The dorms will remain open because not everyone can easily go home, but there will be reduced services. It's really a no-win situation. The story is that there were as many as 50 students that were in Spain, and one tested positive after they returned from break. If it is highly contagious, it is easy to imagine a scenario where a significant number of that group of 50 might have it, and unchecked, it could spread throughout the entire university rather quickly. It may be overboard, but if that scenario happened and Vanderbilt did nothing to address it, then the administration would have to answer for that.

What if one had come home with the flu?

[Gtwjr]

Absolutely insane over reaction.

Agreed. At least for now. I haven't canceled my flight to Nice late April (yet).

Nor have I for my May Alaska Cruise.

I’m trying to see the relevance of your decision not to cancel a flight two months away to Vanderbilt’s decision to cancel in person classes right now to try to contain the spread of this virus and protect its students and the public at large. BTW, St. Louis University and another college in St. Louis announced the same shutdown decision today. I expect other schools will adopt this corse you characterize as an “insane over reaction.”

[Versus75]

I haven't canceled my flight to Nice late April (yet).

I ain’t afraid of no Corona virus ... and have not canceled my flight next month to Naughty.

[commadore]

Agreed. At least for now. I haven't canceled my flight to Nice late April (yet).

Nor have I for my May Alaska Cruise.

I’m trying to see the relevance of your decision not to cancel a flight two months away to Vanderbilt’s decision to cancel in person classes right now to try to contain the spread of this virus and protect its students and the public at large. BTW, St. Louis University and another college in St. Louis announced the same shutdown decision today. I expect other schools will adopt this corse you characterize as an “insane over reaction.”

Every physician I have heard says this virus is no worse than the flu. No one under the age of 15 worldwide has died from it. The vast majority of deaths have been over 75 and those with pre-existing conditions. We lose 25-50,000 people in the United States each year to the flu and there is nowhere near the widespread panic as the press (yes, I said the press) has generated for this. I went to buy toilet paper today because we were running low and had to go to three places before I could find any. Really? Toilet paper? Costco and Target were bare. Finally found some at Walmart. And forget alcohol, hand sanatizer, or wipes. Pure panic. It is laughable.
Is this virus serius? Yes. Especially if you are old and infirm. Otherwisee, it doesn't seem to be that bad...just highly contageous. And so is the flu and they haven't shut it down for that.
Also, if my cruise was this weekend, I would be on the plane to Seattle.

[PinkFloyd]

VU trying to protect assets like everyone else...

[Versus75]

This is outrageous!

I went to Costco for gasoline (few folks at the pump because they all expect to be quarantined, I suppose) then went inside for a lunch of various food samples.

The sampling was shut down! I guess it's because folks would queue by the vendor rather than spacing themselves every six feet. The checkout lanes were closely-packed, however.

[VandyWhit]

Nor have I for my May Alaska Cruise.

I’m trying to see the relevance of your decision not to cancel a flight two months away to Vanderbilt’s decision to cancel in person classes right now to try to contain the spread of this virus and protect its students and the public at large. BTW, St. Louis University and another college in St. Louis announced the same shutdown decision today. I expect other schools will adopt this corse you characterize as an “insane over reaction.”

Every physician I have heard says this virus is no worse than the flu. No one under the age of 15 worldwide has died from it. The vast majority of deaths have been over 75 and those with pre-existing conditions. We lose 25-50,000 people in the United States each year to the flu and there is nowhere near the widespread panic as the press (yes, I said the press) has generated for this. I went to buy toilet paper today because we were running low and had to go to three places before I could find any. Really? Toilet paper? Costco and Target were bare. Finally found some at Walmart. And forget alcohol, hand sanatizer, or wipes. Pure panic. It is laughable.
Is this virus serius? Yes. Especially if you are old and infirm. Otherwisee, it doesn't seem to be that bad...just highly contageous. And so is the flu and they haven't shut it down for that.
Also, if my cruise was this weekend, I would be on the plane to Seattle.

For starters, the mortality rate is 10 times greater than the flu. But the big reason for concern is that the rate of serious complications requiring hospitalization is close to 20% and everybody is susceptible -- that's the big problem with a brand new virus. Nobody is immune from previous exposures or vaccination, and left unchecked, the spread of the disease is exponential.

Even though the large majority of cases are mild to moderate, a big outbreak would overwhelm the ability of hospitals and ICUs to care for the serious cases. If the hospitals and ICUs are strained past capacity, then there won't be sufficient capacity to handle ordinary health issues that require hospital care.

So the concern isn't whether a particular person will get the disease, it's over the entire hospital system. I agree that it may seem alarmist now, but given that the spread of the contagion is exponential, if action isn't untaken until it seems alarming to us lay people, it'll be too late.


If these measures can help slow the spread of the disease sufficiently, hopefully we can avoid swamping hospitals and ICUs past their capacity.

[katmai]

Another update from Vanderbilt:

Today, we received notice from Vanderbilt University Medical Center that a VUMC health care worker has tested positive for COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution and based on public health recommendations and best practices, we will move fully to online and alternative learning for the remainder of the semester.
Given that, all undergraduate residential students should make plans to move out by March 15.


So, all students are supposed to be out by March 15 for the remainder of the semester. I wonder what that does for the baseball team?

[historybill]

Boy, today was one grim announcement after another.

But I do wonder the same thing... if ALL students have to be out of the dorms, does that mean baseball season is off?

[vutrain]

Boy, today was one grim announcement after another.

But I do wonder the same thing... if ALL students have to be out of the dorms, does that mean baseball season is off?

It does now.

[katmai]

Boy, today was one grim announcement after another.

But I do wonder the same thing... if ALL students have to be out of the dorms, does that mean baseball season is off?

It does now.

The latest from the SEC Office today:
In addition, the SEC announced that all regular season contests in all sports on SEC campuses and SEC Championship events will be conducted with similar attendance restrictions effective Thursday, March 12 through at least March 30 at which time the conference and its member universities will re-evaluate conditions.

So this means that the baseball season will continue without fans, unless you have heard something more recent. It is a very dynamic situation.

[charlestonalum]

I’m trying to see the relevance of your decision not to cancel a flight two months away to Vanderbilt’s decision to cancel in person classes right now to try to contain the spread of this virus and protect its students and the public at large. BTW, St. Louis University and another college in St. Louis announced the same shutdown decision today. I expect other schools will adopt this corse you characterize as an “insane over reaction.”

Every physician I have heard says this virus is no worse than the flu. No one under the age of 15 worldwide has died from it. The vast majority of deaths have been over 75 and those with pre-existing conditions. We lose 25-50,000 people in the United States each year to the flu and there is nowhere near the widespread panic as the press (yes, I said the press) has generated for this. I went to buy toilet paper today because we were running low and had to go to three places before I could find any. Really? Toilet paper? Costco and Target were bare. Finally found some at Walmart. And forget alcohol, hand sanatizer, or wipes. Pure panic. It is laughable.
Is this virus serius? Yes. Especially if you are old and infirm. Otherwisee, it doesn't seem to be that bad...just highly contageous. And so is the flu and they haven't shut it down for that.
Also, if my cruise was this weekend, I would be on the plane to Seattle.

For starters, the mortality rate is 10 times greater than the flu. But the big reason for concern is that the rate of serious complications requiring hospitalization is close to 20% and everybody is susceptible -- that's the big problem with a brand new virus. Nobody is immune from previous exposures or vaccination, and left unchecked, the spread of the disease is exponential.

Even though the large majority of cases are mild to moderate, a big outbreak would overwhelm the ability of hospitals and ICUs to care for the serious cases. If the hospitals and ICUs are strained past capacity, then there won't be sufficient capacity to handle ordinary health issues that require hospital care.

So the concern isn't whether a particular person will get the disease, it's over the entire hospital system. I agree that it may seem alarmist now, but given that the spread of the contagion is exponential, if action isn't untaken until it seems alarming to us lay people, it'll be too late.


If these measures can help slow the spread of the disease sufficiently, hopefully we can avoid swamping hospitals and ICUs past their capacity.

Whitt demonstrates knowledge beyond WBB - spot on. This is a novel virus with high infectivity and moderate morbidity and mortality. (Higher mortality than the standard influenzas.) There is no vaccine to this new strain of coronavirus that last year was only in animals and has now found its way into the human host. So the newly migrated virus to a host species with no immunity causes a pandemic and that gives cause for international alarm. And the bad news is we can expect more of these as man is increasingly urbanized and thousands if not millions of these viruses are in their animal hosts just waiting to break into human species with no immunity.

[vujoe]

This hysteria all caused by ineffective leadership from our nation's capital!