Pictured above: USF St. Petersburg will remain open as classes move to online beginning on March 23 due to coronavirus.
Courtesy of U.S. Department of State
By Jonah Hinebaugh, Nancy McCann and Emily Wunderlich
Beginning March 23, all USF system classes will be conducted online for at least two weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The campuses, however, will remain open and operational.
Additionally, “all university-sponsored events on campus, at other USF instructional sites or off campus scheduled in the next 30 days must be postponed or canceled,” according to a March 11 press release from the Office of the USF system president.
The move comes after a March 11 announcement from the Board of Governors for the State University System. The announcement called for all Florida public universities to “make plans to transition to remote instruction as soon as possible.”
“Stay in touch with your professors online and everything will be delivered through Canvas,” said Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock. “The (USF coronavirus) website will continually provide updates.
“It won’t be perfect because (with) some classes, it’s difficult to be able to deliver everything online,” Tadlock said. “Everyone will do the best that they can, but the main concern is that we continue to deliver instruction, so that students can graduate on time, as scheduled and they can complete their classes.”
According to Tadlock, on-campus classes will resume as normal through Friday, March 13. Then, after spring break, he said, “everything will go remote.”
Students who plan to travel during spring break should not return to campus until at least two weeks following, according to the press release. Students who are not planning to travel should make plans to return home, if possible.
“We are not closing,” Tadlock said. “All the employees will be here, student services will still be available. Some services will be handled remotely because students won’t be back on campus.”
Although students are being encouraged to remain off campus, Tadlock said international and out-of-state students who are not leaving for spring break will still be allowed to stay on campus. The press release also said that any residential students who wish to stay in their dorms may do so.
The move to remote instruction leaves questions about graduation ceremonies currently scheduled for May.
“If this continues, then my guess is that we would not be holding a traditional (spring) commencement,” Tadlock said.
The announcement came after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a “pandemic.” On Tuesday night, the Florida Department of Health announced eight new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, raising the state’s total to 21 — including two in Pinellas County.
“Treat it like you would any flu virus, do those things you’ve been asked to do and be patient as we go through this transition,” Tadlock said. “Be understanding. Everyone working together will make this work.”
USF St. Petersburg has canceled four alternative spring break trips hosted by the office of Leadership and Student Organizations. According to Abigail Bradley-Tyler, coordinator of LSO, 26 students planned to participate.
The four trips were to Asheville, North Carolina, focusing on environmentalism and sustainability; New Orleans focusing on community rebuilding; Washington, D.C., focusing on food insecurity and homelessness; and Immokalee to work with Habitat for Humanity.
Each one, except for Immokalee — which was free and open to sophomores only — cost $250. According to the email, students will be refunded within 10 business days.
At a Board of Trustees meeting on the Tampa campus on March 10, university leaders discussed options for moving forward with remote classes, although the decision to do so had not yet been made.
Dr. John Sinnott, chair of USF’s College of Internal Medicine, had recommended closing the campus sooner. He said the virus is “age dependent.”
“The people at risk are the senior researchers and the senior clinicians, and the mortality in that group — depending on what’s going on with heart, lungs, etc. — ranges anywhere from five to 15 percent,” Sinnott said.
“Again, decisions have to be made about graduations, decisions have to be made about graduations for other campuses, and as we look at guidelines, we need to follow I think very closely what the CDC says,” he said. “So we have a defense. If something goes wrong, we can always say, we did what the CDC said.”
A growing pandemic
The World Health Organization announced Wednesday the coronavirus outbreak meets the qualifications of a pandemic. According to its website, there are now 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have died.
“Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, in a statement on its website. “It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.
“WHO has been in full response mode since we were notified of the first cases,” Ghebreyesus said in the statement. “And we have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.”
So far, 21 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, have been confirmed in Florida. There are an additional five repatriated cases, in which the U.S. Department of State officially coordinates the return of a Florida resident to the U.S.
Only two deaths have been reported in Florida.
On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency that will more easily allow the state to marshal resources and get outside aid, according to WUSF.
DeSantis believes the state will receive $27 million in federal funding to help fight the spread of the virus from a bill signed by President Donald Trump on Friday, in addition to $25 million the Florida Legislature approved over the weekend to spend, WUSF reported.
Preventative measures
In an email to students March 9, Dean of Students Jacob Diaz said the university “has mobilized a team of caring professionals across three campuses to provide students with any essential services they may need.”
The university has established a coronavirus task force led by Donna Petersen, dean of the College of Public Health. The task force has been in contact with emergency management in Hillsborough County as well as local colleges and the state university system to share plans and understand respective procedures.
“At all levels of government, the university is engaged with emergency management stakeholders to share plans, best practices and understand what various response capabilities each other have,” said Jennifer Fleischman, USF’s director of Emergency Management and a member of the task force, at the Board of Trustees meeting March 10.
The email also reminded the USF community not to assume someone has the virus based on “appearances, assumptions or because of their country of origin.”
“USF is proud to be a diverse and inclusive global community, where all are treated with respect,” the email said. “We have a shared responsibility to protect our community not only from illness, but from social stigma and discrimination as well.”
The email discouraged the use of face masks as a means for prevention and said they should be reserved for those with coronavirus-like symptoms.
“Wearing a mask is not a preventive measure and may actually increase your risk of infection because if you are exposed to the virus, it could attach to the outside of the mask which you will ultimately touch,” the email said.
As preventative measures, USF Health officials recommend:
- Thoroughly washing hands, including thumbs and in between fingers.
- Carrying hand sanitizer with 60 percent or more alcohol content and using it after contact or every hour.
- Avoiding touching your face.
- Wiping down keyboard and desk area.
- Staying home if you are sick.
- Coughing into your sleeve.
- Avoiding people coughing and sneezing by at least six feet.
Students who need guidance or medical assistance should contact the health services providers for their campus:
- Tampa Student Health Services (SHS 100): 813-974-2331
- St. Petersburg Wellness Center (SLC 2200): 727-873-4422
- Sarasota-Manatee Counseling and Wellness Center (5805 Bay Shore Rd.): 941-487-4254
This is a developing story. Check back with crowsneststpete.com for updates. To stay up to date on USF’s coronavirus response, visit usf.edu/coronavirus/.
