The Covid-19 Thread: News, Preparation Tips, Etc
- Thread starter Black Ambrosia
- Start date
Bette Davis Eyes
The "OG" Product Junkie
I come into work and walk straight to my office. Wipe my doors and light switches down with Clorox Wipes, Wipe my keyboard, mouse, and arm handles down with Clorox wipes. Then I use my Purell until its time for me to go downstairs for the morning meeting. Once I walk outside my office door, I wash my hands in the bathroom, then proceed downstairs. I dont touch any doors with my hand. Sit way in the back of the team room and watch EVERYone like a hawk.
99% males. I watch them cough in their hands and then want to fist bump to say good morning. Not me!
When I leave for the day I turn my keyboard over. If I come in the next day and its turned up, that means someone was over here.
I then proceed to go straight home and strip. Folks used to make comments about the brewery being one of the dirtiest places.
We wont be going anywhere but to work and home with some stops to the grocery store. Planning on seeing if I can find a deep fridge this week. If we dont have to go out, Im not.
Im supposed to travel to NC on the 19th. I doubt thats happening.
99% males. I watch them cough in their hands and then want to fist bump to say good morning. Not me!
When I leave for the day I turn my keyboard over. If I come in the next day and its turned up, that means someone was over here.
I then proceed to go straight home and strip. Folks used to make comments about the brewery being one of the dirtiest places.
We wont be going anywhere but to work and home with some stops to the grocery store. Planning on seeing if I can find a deep fridge this week. If we dont have to go out, Im not.
Im supposed to travel to NC on the 19th. I doubt thats happening.
Black Ambrosia
Well-Known Member
@Jmartjrmd I saw the same on twitter earlier today. It sounds so dismal and apocalyptic. Also saw something about unrest in Italy and Italian prisons related to the quarantine but I haven't had time to look into it. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come.
Black Ambrosia
Well-Known Member
@Lylddlebit Thanks for sharing the article about what Taiwan is doing. Instead of telling us not to worry, our government should be doing the same things. They could definitely have soldiers working in factories producing face masks and hand sanitizer.
Black Ambrosia
Well-Known Member
New York State Will Produce Hand Sanitizer Made By Prison Inmates
State prisoners, paid an average of 65 cents an hour, will make the product to combat shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Marina Fang
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday inmates in a state prison will produce 100,000 gallons of a state-branded hand sanitizer to offset reported price gouging by vendors and shortages of the product in government agencies, schools, prisons and mass transit lines stemming from the coronavirus outbreak.
Cuomo’s announcement came during a daily press conference on the COVID-19 outbreak, which has worsened in New York over the last week.
Called “NYS Clean,” the hand sanitizer will be produced by inmates at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
Corcraft, the division of the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision that arranges industrial and manufacturing work for prison inmates, pays inmates an average of 65 cents per hour, Gothamist reported in 2017.
Last week, the Marshall Project reported that many prisons are ill-equipped to protect inmates from the coronavirus outbreak — including not being able to supply alcohol-based hand sanitizer because in some facilities, it is considered contraband.
It’s likely that the inmates who produce the hand sanitizer will not be able to use it, based on a directive from state corrections officials issued in June that denotes items inmates are not allowed to receive. Among the banned toiletry and cosmetic items, it says: “No item may be received which lists alcohol as an ingredient” — which would include alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
Cuomo at his press conference boasted about the prison product’s higher alcohol level (75%, more than the 60% recommended by the Centers for Disease Control for alcohol-based hand sanitizers), lower price and “floral bouquet” scent.
“This is a superior product to products now on the market,” the governor said, after unveiling the new bottles of hand sanitizer, hidden behind a set of curtains.
On Saturday, he declared a state of emergency for New York in order to expedite funding, the allocation of health care professionals and resources, and testing for the virus.
As of Monday, the state had reported 142 confirmed cases of it. The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Rick Cotton, is among those newly testing positive for COVID-19, Cuomo announced.
Some schools in the state have closed and some colleges have canceled classes, including New York City’s Columbia University.
Later Monday, several legal advocacy and criminal justice reform organizations blasted Cuomo’s move to use prison labor to produce the state-branded hand sanitizer.
“This is nothing less than slave labor and it must end,” the Legal Aid Society of New York City said in a statement. “These individuals work for less than a dollar a day under threat of punishment ― including solitary confinement ― if they refuse. Albany must pay these individuals the minimum wage and lawmakers must legislate to eradicate forced labor across our state for good. It would be even more shocking if prisons and jails were to deem this Corcraft product ‘contraband’ and deprive incarcerated New Yorkers from possessing effective hand sanitizer because of the alcohol content. The same individuals who produce this product should not be prohibited from using it.”
A coalition of five groups, including Citizen Action of NY, VOCAL-NY and Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement, issued a statement saying: “We are disgusted at Governor Cuomo’s decision to exploit prison labor to push back the imminent public health crisis presented by COVID-19 while doing absolutely nothing for incarcerated people across the state.”
The groups called on Cuomo to raise wages for prison laborers.
State prisoners, paid an average of 65 cents an hour, will make the product to combat shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Marina Fang
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday inmates in a state prison will produce 100,000 gallons of a state-branded hand sanitizer to offset reported price gouging by vendors and shortages of the product in government agencies, schools, prisons and mass transit lines stemming from the coronavirus outbreak.
Cuomo’s announcement came during a daily press conference on the COVID-19 outbreak, which has worsened in New York over the last week.
Called “NYS Clean,” the hand sanitizer will be produced by inmates at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
Corcraft, the division of the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision that arranges industrial and manufacturing work for prison inmates, pays inmates an average of 65 cents per hour, Gothamist reported in 2017.
Last week, the Marshall Project reported that many prisons are ill-equipped to protect inmates from the coronavirus outbreak — including not being able to supply alcohol-based hand sanitizer because in some facilities, it is considered contraband.
It’s likely that the inmates who produce the hand sanitizer will not be able to use it, based on a directive from state corrections officials issued in June that denotes items inmates are not allowed to receive. Among the banned toiletry and cosmetic items, it says: “No item may be received which lists alcohol as an ingredient” — which would include alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
Cuomo at his press conference boasted about the prison product’s higher alcohol level (75%, more than the 60% recommended by the Centers for Disease Control for alcohol-based hand sanitizers), lower price and “floral bouquet” scent.
“This is a superior product to products now on the market,” the governor said, after unveiling the new bottles of hand sanitizer, hidden behind a set of curtains.
On Saturday, he declared a state of emergency for New York in order to expedite funding, the allocation of health care professionals and resources, and testing for the virus.
As of Monday, the state had reported 142 confirmed cases of it. The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Rick Cotton, is among those newly testing positive for COVID-19, Cuomo announced.
Some schools in the state have closed and some colleges have canceled classes, including New York City’s Columbia University.
Later Monday, several legal advocacy and criminal justice reform organizations blasted Cuomo’s move to use prison labor to produce the state-branded hand sanitizer.
“This is nothing less than slave labor and it must end,” the Legal Aid Society of New York City said in a statement. “These individuals work for less than a dollar a day under threat of punishment ― including solitary confinement ― if they refuse. Albany must pay these individuals the minimum wage and lawmakers must legislate to eradicate forced labor across our state for good. It would be even more shocking if prisons and jails were to deem this Corcraft product ‘contraband’ and deprive incarcerated New Yorkers from possessing effective hand sanitizer because of the alcohol content. The same individuals who produce this product should not be prohibited from using it.”
A coalition of five groups, including Citizen Action of NY, VOCAL-NY and Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement, issued a statement saying: “We are disgusted at Governor Cuomo’s decision to exploit prison labor to push back the imminent public health crisis presented by COVID-19 while doing absolutely nothing for incarcerated people across the state.”
The groups called on Cuomo to raise wages for prison laborers.
Last edited:
Black Ambrosia
Well-Known Member
Death toll rises from Italy's coronavirus prison riots
ROME (Reuters) - The number of dead from riots in Italy’s overcrowded prisons over measures imposed to contain the coronavirus rose to 12 on Tuesday, officials said.
Inmates, many angered by restrictions on family visits, started going on the rampage on Sunday, setting fires, taking hostages and escaping from one prison.
The most violent protests were under control by Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement, but occupations and demonstrations were still going on in 10 prisons.
All hostages, most of them guards and health workers, had been released by the inmates or freed by police.
Seven inmates died in the Modena prison on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, two others were found dead there as well as three in a prison in Rieti, northeast of Rome.
Most of the deaths were believed to be from overdoses of drugs the inmates stole from clinics they rampaged, the ministry said.
Fifty inmates escaped from a prison in southern Foggia on Monday and only 22 had been re-arrested by Tuesday morning, the justice ministry said.
The protests and riots began after authorities limited the inmates’ contacts with family members in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has hit Italy harder than anywhere else in Europe.
Italian prisons are chronically overcrowded, which could make inmates and staff more vulnerable to the contagion. They hold about 61,250 inmates, about 10,000 more than they were built to accommodate.
ROME (Reuters) - The number of dead from riots in Italy’s overcrowded prisons over measures imposed to contain the coronavirus rose to 12 on Tuesday, officials said.
Inmates, many angered by restrictions on family visits, started going on the rampage on Sunday, setting fires, taking hostages and escaping from one prison.
The most violent protests were under control by Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement, but occupations and demonstrations were still going on in 10 prisons.
All hostages, most of them guards and health workers, had been released by the inmates or freed by police.
Seven inmates died in the Modena prison on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, two others were found dead there as well as three in a prison in Rieti, northeast of Rome.
Most of the deaths were believed to be from overdoses of drugs the inmates stole from clinics they rampaged, the ministry said.
Fifty inmates escaped from a prison in southern Foggia on Monday and only 22 had been re-arrested by Tuesday morning, the justice ministry said.
The protests and riots began after authorities limited the inmates’ contacts with family members in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has hit Italy harder than anywhere else in Europe.
Italian prisons are chronically overcrowded, which could make inmates and staff more vulnerable to the contagion. They hold about 61,250 inmates, about 10,000 more than they were built to accommodate.
Black Ambrosia
Well-Known Member
Prisons Are Ripe For Coronavirus Outbreak. They’re Not Ready.
With hundreds of cases reported in prisons in China and elsewhere, public health experts worry about a U.S. outbreak.
By Jenavieve Hatch and Hayley Miller
In China, the coronavirus rocketed through five prisons in three provinces, causing over 500 cases. In Iran, 54,000 inmates were temporarily released as the outbreak in that country spurred concerns the illness would rapidly spread in detention facilities. And this week in Italy, prisoners at 27 facilities rioted in response to quarantine attempts by prison officials desperate to contain the spread of a disease that has infected over 9,000 people there.
As the novel coronavirus has spread across the globe, prisons and jails have consistently been huge problem spots in places where the outbreaks are intense. As with any “congregate setting” ― environments where groups of people are gathered in close proximity to one another, like college dorms and nursing homes ― infectious diseases thrive in correctional facilities. But the difference in jails and prisons is that residents can neither fully self-quarantine nor leave and be fully quarantined elsewhere.
The U.S. has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases in recent days, with public health officials deeply concerned about a nationwide spread. The U.S. also has a lot of prisoners ― per capita, more than any other country in the world. The 2.3 million incarcerated people in the U.S. are scattered across 1,719 state prisons, 109 federal prisons, 1,772 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,163 local jails and 80 Indian Country jails ― on top of military prisons, immigration detention facilities, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in U.S. territories, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. And up to half of them qualify as over-crowded.
The warning lights are already starting to flash. The chief judge for the federal Southern District of New York last week required any inmate coming from the Metropolitan Correctional Center to have a temperature check before being transported to court. Some federal courts in Washington state have postponed jury and grand jury trials.
“When it pops, and it’s about to, it’s going to be really ugly,” said Dr. Josiah Rich, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Brown University in Rhode Island.
And it’s not just the incarcerated who are at risk. Guards, doctors and other prison staff return to their communities after their shifts. Inmates, particularly at jails, rotate in and out of the community.
The bottom line: Jails and prisons could become hotbeds for infection if public health officials and correctional facility administrators don’t act quickly to put measures in place to diminish that prospect.
Inmates Struggle To Prepare For The Worst
All Rachel could think about as she sat inside the cramped, dirty waiting room at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn was washing her hands.
She had to touch a lot of objects at the heavily trafficked facility ― paperwork, lockers, keys, doorknobs ― before she could visit her husband inside the federal detention center. (She asked to use a pseudonym to protect her husband’s privacy.)
Rachel is pregnant and was on high alert for cleanliness because of coronavirus, which has forced millions of people into lockdown in Italy, where some of her relatives live. Plus, Rachel feared transmitting the virus to inmates in a detention center notorious for its abysmal conditions and operational issues.
Once through processing, Rachel ran straight to the bathroom, but the soap dispenser inside was empty. When she asked a nearby corrections officer for soap, they told her none was available, despite the growing global panic over the deadly virus and federal health officials urging people to wash their hands frequently.
"It’s all just a recipe for disaster, so when we get no information from them about what their plan is [it] makes us nervous."
-David Patton, executive director and attorney-in-chief of Federal Defenders of New York
In fact, hand sanitizer is not allowed inside most jail and prison facilities because it contains alcohol ― even if it’s prisoners themselves making it for just 65 cents an hour.
“It was just not correct for the time we’re living in with this coronavirus scare,” Rachel told HuffPost. “You do not want to be the person responsible for bringing in such a virus.”
A Federal Bureau of Prisons official told HuffPost no known cases of the virus have been reported among its inmates as of now, and the agency maintains that it’s taken all necessary precautions in the event of any kind of outbreak.
Bureau officials said they are providing guidance to health care professionals and have a screening tool in place for use in the event an inmate or staff member is exposed or symptomatic. And there’s an online reporting system.
Health experts warn, however, that these steps may not be enough.
“Everyone walks to the cafeteria together, walks back through the same hallway, touches the same doorknobs, uses the same showers,” Rich said. “It was pretty clear, as this thing started evolving, that there is person-to-person transmission. It’s also pretty clear that it can spread easily.”
Rich has worked for decades in the Rhode Island correctional system, researching infectious disease and providing medical care for HIV positive inmates and inmates with addiction issues at a maximum security facility.
Many of those incarcerated are older and/or unhealthy, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 if they become infected. The majority of incarcerated people in the U.S. are between the ages of 31-59, but the number of inmates over the age of 55 increased by a whopping 400% between 1993-2013.
It can be difficult for correctional facilities to divide inmates for health reasons ― such as quarantines or separating out more vulnerable populations ― rather than the typical system of dividing them based on security classifications, as Dr. Homer Venters, president of Community Oriented Correctional Health Services, explained in The Hill last week. This was “extremely challenging” during the outbreak of H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, he wrote. Swine flu affected prisoners all over the country, including more than 700 prisoners in California alone.
At MDC Brooklyn, inmates and their attorneys have been kept in the dark about plans to combat the coronavirus spread. Rachel said she’s been updating her husband as the situation unfolds, telling him to wash his hands constantly, especially before and after computer use. On Monday morning, Rachel said, her husband was handed a can of disinfectant powder without any explanation.
“They haven’t done anything,” she said. “It’s me telling my husband what to do.”
Rachel said she believes MDC is cleaner than the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, located just five miles north of the Brooklyn facility. Her husband, who was transferred out of MCC about a month ago, said the building is crawling with rodents and pests.
“We understand the potential disaster of this virus,” Rachel said. “If it’s a problem at MDC, I can only imagine what the situation in the Manhattan facility will be like. … My husband woke up with roaches on his face there.”
Inmates at MCC have described horrendous conditions as concerns about COVID-19 have escalated. Some say they haven’t been allowed to shower or do their laundry in weeks and don’t have access to soap or hand sanitizer.
In a statement Sunday, the Federal Defenders of New York wrote that the group was “extremely concerned about the lack of information and planning” at the MCC and MDC.
“You take a baseline of poor conditions and then you add to it,” said David Patton, executive director and attorney-in-chief for the group, a nonprofit focused on defending impoverished people accused of federal crimes. “It’s all just a recipe for disaster, so when we get no information from [officials] about what their plan is, [it] makes us nervous.”
Detention centers like MDC and MCC, which largely house alleged criminals awaiting trials, are at greater risk during a potential pandemic like coronavirus given the amount of traffic and frequency of people going in and out of the facility, Patton said.
At the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, inmates fear the spread of coronavirus. Just over a year ago, inmates at the same facility were left without heat despite freezing temperatures.
“On top of that, you have all sorts of people who are medically compromised,” he said. “There are a number of people with hepatitis, people with a broad spectrum of medical issues that are not dealt with well even in the best of times. And you have older inmates, you have people who are in high-risk categories and who are kept in thoroughly unsanitary conditions.”
Rachel worries a coronavirus outbreak in these facilities could result in federal officials restricting visits by family members and legal counsel for inmates.
“The entire population of federal inmates in New York City needs to be treated with respect when it comes to this virus,” she said.
Preventing A Viral Prison Breakout
The most surefire way to avoid a COVID-19 breakout in a correctional facility is to temporarily release incarcerated people like occurred in Iran, Rich said.
“If we had some rational discussion on the issue, we would conclude what they concluded in Iran ― which is that there are a lot of people behind bars that don’t need to be,” he said.
But that’s not something likely to happen in the U.S., and advocates say measures should be taken in correctional facilities that could halt the spread of infectious disease.
Steps called for by the Federal Defenders of New York include comprehensive testing protocols, greater precautionary measures such as “frequent cleaning and ready availability of soap and tissues,” and ensuring that anyone who tests positive for the virus be quarantined not at prisons but at hospitals.
The group also urges that arrestees be detained only under “extraordinary circumstances” to avoid any new cases from entering prisons or jails.
In a statement to HuffPost, the Bureau of Prisons denied a shortage of cleaning products, including hand soap, for inmates and staff at MDC and MCC. The bureau said it encourages inmates to wash their hands frequently and plans to discuss the concerns raised by the Federal Defenders of New York.
“At this point in time, visitation has not been limited or suspended in any BOP facility due to COVID-19,” the statement added.
Some legal proceedings have already been affected, with federal courthouses delaying trials.
A key condition to help prevent or limit a coronavirus breakout in prisons is ensuring mutual respect between incarcerated people and those providing preventative care.
“Correctional settings around the nation are often run with tolerance for abuse and neglect of incarcerated people,” Venters wrote in his op-ed. “The only path to effective management of COVID-19 in these settings is meaningful partnership that starts now, when plans are being designed, not two months from now when cases are being detected.”
With hundreds of cases reported in prisons in China and elsewhere, public health experts worry about a U.S. outbreak.
By Jenavieve Hatch and Hayley Miller
In China, the coronavirus rocketed through five prisons in three provinces, causing over 500 cases. In Iran, 54,000 inmates were temporarily released as the outbreak in that country spurred concerns the illness would rapidly spread in detention facilities. And this week in Italy, prisoners at 27 facilities rioted in response to quarantine attempts by prison officials desperate to contain the spread of a disease that has infected over 9,000 people there.
As the novel coronavirus has spread across the globe, prisons and jails have consistently been huge problem spots in places where the outbreaks are intense. As with any “congregate setting” ― environments where groups of people are gathered in close proximity to one another, like college dorms and nursing homes ― infectious diseases thrive in correctional facilities. But the difference in jails and prisons is that residents can neither fully self-quarantine nor leave and be fully quarantined elsewhere.
The U.S. has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases in recent days, with public health officials deeply concerned about a nationwide spread. The U.S. also has a lot of prisoners ― per capita, more than any other country in the world. The 2.3 million incarcerated people in the U.S. are scattered across 1,719 state prisons, 109 federal prisons, 1,772 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,163 local jails and 80 Indian Country jails ― on top of military prisons, immigration detention facilities, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in U.S. territories, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. And up to half of them qualify as over-crowded.
The warning lights are already starting to flash. The chief judge for the federal Southern District of New York last week required any inmate coming from the Metropolitan Correctional Center to have a temperature check before being transported to court. Some federal courts in Washington state have postponed jury and grand jury trials.
“When it pops, and it’s about to, it’s going to be really ugly,” said Dr. Josiah Rich, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Brown University in Rhode Island.
And it’s not just the incarcerated who are at risk. Guards, doctors and other prison staff return to their communities after their shifts. Inmates, particularly at jails, rotate in and out of the community.
The bottom line: Jails and prisons could become hotbeds for infection if public health officials and correctional facility administrators don’t act quickly to put measures in place to diminish that prospect.
Inmates Struggle To Prepare For The Worst
All Rachel could think about as she sat inside the cramped, dirty waiting room at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn was washing her hands.
She had to touch a lot of objects at the heavily trafficked facility ― paperwork, lockers, keys, doorknobs ― before she could visit her husband inside the federal detention center. (She asked to use a pseudonym to protect her husband’s privacy.)
Rachel is pregnant and was on high alert for cleanliness because of coronavirus, which has forced millions of people into lockdown in Italy, where some of her relatives live. Plus, Rachel feared transmitting the virus to inmates in a detention center notorious for its abysmal conditions and operational issues.
Once through processing, Rachel ran straight to the bathroom, but the soap dispenser inside was empty. When she asked a nearby corrections officer for soap, they told her none was available, despite the growing global panic over the deadly virus and federal health officials urging people to wash their hands frequently.
"It’s all just a recipe for disaster, so when we get no information from them about what their plan is [it] makes us nervous."
-David Patton, executive director and attorney-in-chief of Federal Defenders of New York
In fact, hand sanitizer is not allowed inside most jail and prison facilities because it contains alcohol ― even if it’s prisoners themselves making it for just 65 cents an hour.
“It was just not correct for the time we’re living in with this coronavirus scare,” Rachel told HuffPost. “You do not want to be the person responsible for bringing in such a virus.”
A Federal Bureau of Prisons official told HuffPost no known cases of the virus have been reported among its inmates as of now, and the agency maintains that it’s taken all necessary precautions in the event of any kind of outbreak.
Bureau officials said they are providing guidance to health care professionals and have a screening tool in place for use in the event an inmate or staff member is exposed or symptomatic. And there’s an online reporting system.
Health experts warn, however, that these steps may not be enough.
“Everyone walks to the cafeteria together, walks back through the same hallway, touches the same doorknobs, uses the same showers,” Rich said. “It was pretty clear, as this thing started evolving, that there is person-to-person transmission. It’s also pretty clear that it can spread easily.”
Rich has worked for decades in the Rhode Island correctional system, researching infectious disease and providing medical care for HIV positive inmates and inmates with addiction issues at a maximum security facility.
Many of those incarcerated are older and/or unhealthy, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 if they become infected. The majority of incarcerated people in the U.S. are between the ages of 31-59, but the number of inmates over the age of 55 increased by a whopping 400% between 1993-2013.
It can be difficult for correctional facilities to divide inmates for health reasons ― such as quarantines or separating out more vulnerable populations ― rather than the typical system of dividing them based on security classifications, as Dr. Homer Venters, president of Community Oriented Correctional Health Services, explained in The Hill last week. This was “extremely challenging” during the outbreak of H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, he wrote. Swine flu affected prisoners all over the country, including more than 700 prisoners in California alone.
At MDC Brooklyn, inmates and their attorneys have been kept in the dark about plans to combat the coronavirus spread. Rachel said she’s been updating her husband as the situation unfolds, telling him to wash his hands constantly, especially before and after computer use. On Monday morning, Rachel said, her husband was handed a can of disinfectant powder without any explanation.
“They haven’t done anything,” she said. “It’s me telling my husband what to do.”
Rachel said she believes MDC is cleaner than the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, located just five miles north of the Brooklyn facility. Her husband, who was transferred out of MCC about a month ago, said the building is crawling with rodents and pests.
“We understand the potential disaster of this virus,” Rachel said. “If it’s a problem at MDC, I can only imagine what the situation in the Manhattan facility will be like. … My husband woke up with roaches on his face there.”
Inmates at MCC have described horrendous conditions as concerns about COVID-19 have escalated. Some say they haven’t been allowed to shower or do their laundry in weeks and don’t have access to soap or hand sanitizer.
In a statement Sunday, the Federal Defenders of New York wrote that the group was “extremely concerned about the lack of information and planning” at the MCC and MDC.
“You take a baseline of poor conditions and then you add to it,” said David Patton, executive director and attorney-in-chief for the group, a nonprofit focused on defending impoverished people accused of federal crimes. “It’s all just a recipe for disaster, so when we get no information from [officials] about what their plan is, [it] makes us nervous.”
Detention centers like MDC and MCC, which largely house alleged criminals awaiting trials, are at greater risk during a potential pandemic like coronavirus given the amount of traffic and frequency of people going in and out of the facility, Patton said.
At the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, inmates fear the spread of coronavirus. Just over a year ago, inmates at the same facility were left without heat despite freezing temperatures.
“On top of that, you have all sorts of people who are medically compromised,” he said. “There are a number of people with hepatitis, people with a broad spectrum of medical issues that are not dealt with well even in the best of times. And you have older inmates, you have people who are in high-risk categories and who are kept in thoroughly unsanitary conditions.”
Rachel worries a coronavirus outbreak in these facilities could result in federal officials restricting visits by family members and legal counsel for inmates.
“The entire population of federal inmates in New York City needs to be treated with respect when it comes to this virus,” she said.
Preventing A Viral Prison Breakout
The most surefire way to avoid a COVID-19 breakout in a correctional facility is to temporarily release incarcerated people like occurred in Iran, Rich said.
“If we had some rational discussion on the issue, we would conclude what they concluded in Iran ― which is that there are a lot of people behind bars that don’t need to be,” he said.
But that’s not something likely to happen in the U.S., and advocates say measures should be taken in correctional facilities that could halt the spread of infectious disease.
Steps called for by the Federal Defenders of New York include comprehensive testing protocols, greater precautionary measures such as “frequent cleaning and ready availability of soap and tissues,” and ensuring that anyone who tests positive for the virus be quarantined not at prisons but at hospitals.
The group also urges that arrestees be detained only under “extraordinary circumstances” to avoid any new cases from entering prisons or jails.
In a statement to HuffPost, the Bureau of Prisons denied a shortage of cleaning products, including hand soap, for inmates and staff at MDC and MCC. The bureau said it encourages inmates to wash their hands frequently and plans to discuss the concerns raised by the Federal Defenders of New York.
“At this point in time, visitation has not been limited or suspended in any BOP facility due to COVID-19,” the statement added.
Some legal proceedings have already been affected, with federal courthouses delaying trials.
A key condition to help prevent or limit a coronavirus breakout in prisons is ensuring mutual respect between incarcerated people and those providing preventative care.
“Correctional settings around the nation are often run with tolerance for abuse and neglect of incarcerated people,” Venters wrote in his op-ed. “The only path to effective management of COVID-19 in these settings is meaningful partnership that starts now, when plans are being designed, not two months from now when cases are being detected.”
Black Ambrosia
Well-Known Member
I'm wondering about our HBCUs especially those in confirmed states (which is just about all of them now).
Here Are The Schools Going Online Amid Coronavirus Fears
Across the country, colleges and universities are electing to offer classes online rather than in person to avoid spreading the disease.
A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are switching to online rather than in-person courses in response to the spread of coronavirus across the United States. As of Monday afternoon, at least a dozen institutions of higher learning have either canceled in-person courses entirely or shifted the majority of their operations online.
Colleges and universities across the country are closing down their classrooms to avoid spreading coronavirus.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose to more than 550 Sunday, including 22 deaths, but the true scale remains unknown largely because the Trump administration continues to downplay its impact.
Regardless, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued guidance to colleges and universities on how to cope with campus closures, class cancellations and the transition to courses offered online. Here is a list of the colleges and universities that have elected to go online amid fears about coronavirus.
Amherst College
Daytime view of the the Johnson Chapel standing at the center of College Row on the Amherst College campus.
On March 9, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, announced it will transition to online courses when spring break ends on March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. Amherst President Biddy Martin said in a statement that classes would be canceled March 12 and March 13 to allow faculty and staff time to develop “alternate modes of delivering courses.”
Brandman University
Brandman University’s campus in San Diego. Most of the university’s classes in California and Washington are already online.
On March 6, Brandman University, a private college based in California and Washington, announced the school will suspend the majority of its on-campus courses. About 85% of Brandman’s courses are taken online, according to the university.
“University leaders developing Brandman’s response to this public health crisis anticipate the switch to entirely online course delivery can be achieved with minimal or no disruptions to students’ academic progress,” the university said in a statement.
Columbia University
Columbia University in New York City suspended classes for two days to prepare for online instruction.
Columbia University, based in New York City, suspended class on March 9 and March 10 to prepare the university for a week of exclusively online courses.
“This suspension of activities will allow us to prepare to shift to remote classes for the remainder of the week,” Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger said in a statement. There have been more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York to date and at least 20 confirmed case in New York City specifically.
Harvard University
The Harvard Widener Library on Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On March 10, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced in an email to students that it will move to remote instruction beginning March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. The university is reportedly also asking students not to return to campus when spring break ends on March 22.
Hofstra University
Hofstra University’s campus on Long Island has canceled in-person classes.
On March 8, Hofstra University, located on Long Island in New York, announced it would cancel in-person classes following a student’s reported symptoms of coronavirus after attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland.
The American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, announced one of its attendees tested positive for coronavirus. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) recently entered self-quarantine after discovering they had interacted with the infected individual at last month’s conference.
Middlebury College
On March 10, Middlebury College in Vermont announced it will dismiss students for spring break on March 13, one week earlier than scheduled. Students returning for the rest of the semester will begin taking courses remotely on March 30. University President Laurie Patton said the school has an obligation to provide quality education and a safe, healthy environment.
Subscribe to The Morning Email.
Wake up to the day's most important news.
“The rapidly developing circumstances of the novel coronavirus now require extraordinary changes to our usual practices to fulfill those obligations,” Patton said.
Princeton University
A student walks toward Princeton University’s Nassau Hall. The college plans to begin “virtual instruction” starting March 23.
On March 9, Princeton University in New Jersey announced it will offer its courses exclusively online when students return from spring break on March 23.
The transition will include “a mandatory, temporary move for all lectures, seminars, and precepts to virtual instruction starting on Monday, March 23,” the university said in a statement.
Rice University
Rice University in Houston is preparing for the possibility of online classes only after an employee contracted the virus.
Rice University in Texas announced on March 8 all of its classes for the week of March 9 will be canceled as the university prepares to possibly offer all of its courses exclusively online.
One employee at the university was confirmed to have contracted the virus, and Rice has since closed the hall where that employee worked until further notice.
Seattle University
Seattle University campus suspended in-person classes on March 9 after several coronavirus cases were confirmed in Washington state.
On March 9, Seattle University in Washington announced it will suspend all in-person classes and offer its courses online from March 9 until March 20. Despite the discovery of several coronavirus infections in Washington, Seattle University said there have been no confirmed cases in their “campus community.”
In a statement, the university said it is taking these steps “out of an abundance of caution and to support public health efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the region, including social distancing.”
Smith College
On March 10, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, announced it will offer in-person classes through March 13, but all courses will be delivered through “alternate modes” beginning March 30. Smith College President Kathleen McCartney said the decision to suspend in-person classes was made “to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us — those students, staff and faculty on the CDC’s list of those who are at a higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.”
Stanford University
Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, has suspended in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 9, Stanford University announced it will suspend all in-person courses for the remainder of the winter semester, effective immediately. In a statement, university Provost Persis Drell said California public health officials recommended encouraging good personal hygiene “but also minimizing close contact among groups of people.”
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley, will hold classes remotely.
Officials from the University of California, Berkeley, told students Monday that they were suspending nearly all in-person classes until after spring break ends later this month.
“There are no confirmed cases on our campus at this time; however, as local, national, and global public health recommendations shift to include mitigation of transmission, the campus is proactively taking steps that will help to protect the community,” Chancellor Carol Christ wrote in an email to students.
Most classes will be conducted online. Those that require in-person instruction ― arts, physical education or lab sciences ― will continue to meet in person when necessary.
University of Washington
The University of Washington’s main campus in Seattle. It also plans to suspend in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 6, University of Washington announced it will also suspend in-person instruction for the remainder of the semester, effective immediately.
“These actions are being taken in response to recommendations from public health agencies to avoid bringing large groups of people together in close proximity for events and gatherings,” university officials said in a statement.
Here Are The Schools Going Online Amid Coronavirus Fears
Across the country, colleges and universities are electing to offer classes online rather than in person to avoid spreading the disease.
A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are switching to online rather than in-person courses in response to the spread of coronavirus across the United States. As of Monday afternoon, at least a dozen institutions of higher learning have either canceled in-person courses entirely or shifted the majority of their operations online.
Colleges and universities across the country are closing down their classrooms to avoid spreading coronavirus.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose to more than 550 Sunday, including 22 deaths, but the true scale remains unknown largely because the Trump administration continues to downplay its impact.
Regardless, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued guidance to colleges and universities on how to cope with campus closures, class cancellations and the transition to courses offered online. Here is a list of the colleges and universities that have elected to go online amid fears about coronavirus.
Amherst College
Daytime view of the the Johnson Chapel standing at the center of College Row on the Amherst College campus.
On March 9, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, announced it will transition to online courses when spring break ends on March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. Amherst President Biddy Martin said in a statement that classes would be canceled March 12 and March 13 to allow faculty and staff time to develop “alternate modes of delivering courses.”
Brandman University
Brandman University’s campus in San Diego. Most of the university’s classes in California and Washington are already online.
On March 6, Brandman University, a private college based in California and Washington, announced the school will suspend the majority of its on-campus courses. About 85% of Brandman’s courses are taken online, according to the university.
“University leaders developing Brandman’s response to this public health crisis anticipate the switch to entirely online course delivery can be achieved with minimal or no disruptions to students’ academic progress,” the university said in a statement.
Columbia University
Columbia University in New York City suspended classes for two days to prepare for online instruction.
Columbia University, based in New York City, suspended class on March 9 and March 10 to prepare the university for a week of exclusively online courses.
“This suspension of activities will allow us to prepare to shift to remote classes for the remainder of the week,” Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger said in a statement. There have been more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York to date and at least 20 confirmed case in New York City specifically.
Harvard University
The Harvard Widener Library on Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On March 10, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced in an email to students that it will move to remote instruction beginning March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. The university is reportedly also asking students not to return to campus when spring break ends on March 22.
Hofstra University
Hofstra University’s campus on Long Island has canceled in-person classes.
On March 8, Hofstra University, located on Long Island in New York, announced it would cancel in-person classes following a student’s reported symptoms of coronavirus after attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland.
The American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, announced one of its attendees tested positive for coronavirus. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) recently entered self-quarantine after discovering they had interacted with the infected individual at last month’s conference.
Middlebury College
On March 10, Middlebury College in Vermont announced it will dismiss students for spring break on March 13, one week earlier than scheduled. Students returning for the rest of the semester will begin taking courses remotely on March 30. University President Laurie Patton said the school has an obligation to provide quality education and a safe, healthy environment.
Subscribe to The Morning Email.
Wake up to the day's most important news.
“The rapidly developing circumstances of the novel coronavirus now require extraordinary changes to our usual practices to fulfill those obligations,” Patton said.
Princeton University
A student walks toward Princeton University’s Nassau Hall. The college plans to begin “virtual instruction” starting March 23.
On March 9, Princeton University in New Jersey announced it will offer its courses exclusively online when students return from spring break on March 23.
The transition will include “a mandatory, temporary move for all lectures, seminars, and precepts to virtual instruction starting on Monday, March 23,” the university said in a statement.
Rice University
Rice University in Houston is preparing for the possibility of online classes only after an employee contracted the virus.
Rice University in Texas announced on March 8 all of its classes for the week of March 9 will be canceled as the university prepares to possibly offer all of its courses exclusively online.
One employee at the university was confirmed to have contracted the virus, and Rice has since closed the hall where that employee worked until further notice.
Seattle University
Seattle University campus suspended in-person classes on March 9 after several coronavirus cases were confirmed in Washington state.
On March 9, Seattle University in Washington announced it will suspend all in-person classes and offer its courses online from March 9 until March 20. Despite the discovery of several coronavirus infections in Washington, Seattle University said there have been no confirmed cases in their “campus community.”
In a statement, the university said it is taking these steps “out of an abundance of caution and to support public health efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the region, including social distancing.”
Smith College
On March 10, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, announced it will offer in-person classes through March 13, but all courses will be delivered through “alternate modes” beginning March 30. Smith College President Kathleen McCartney said the decision to suspend in-person classes was made “to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us — those students, staff and faculty on the CDC’s list of those who are at a higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.”
Stanford University
Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, has suspended in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 9, Stanford University announced it will suspend all in-person courses for the remainder of the winter semester, effective immediately. In a statement, university Provost Persis Drell said California public health officials recommended encouraging good personal hygiene “but also minimizing close contact among groups of people.”
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley, will hold classes remotely.
Officials from the University of California, Berkeley, told students Monday that they were suspending nearly all in-person classes until after spring break ends later this month.
“There are no confirmed cases on our campus at this time; however, as local, national, and global public health recommendations shift to include mitigation of transmission, the campus is proactively taking steps that will help to protect the community,” Chancellor Carol Christ wrote in an email to students.
Most classes will be conducted online. Those that require in-person instruction ― arts, physical education or lab sciences ― will continue to meet in person when necessary.
University of Washington
The University of Washington’s main campus in Seattle. It also plans to suspend in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 6, University of Washington announced it will also suspend in-person instruction for the remainder of the semester, effective immediately.
“These actions are being taken in response to recommendations from public health agencies to avoid bringing large groups of people together in close proximity for events and gatherings,” university officials said in a statement.
Black Ambrosia
Well-Known Member
The I.R.S. could extend the tax payment deadline past April 15.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, on Capitol Hill this month.
The Treasury Department is considering delaying tax payments beyond the April 15 deadline, according to a person familiar with the plans, as taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service brace for economic disruption from the spread of the coronavirus.
Treasury and White House officials have been discussing the idea of extending the tax deadline over the past week as the administration considers measures to relieve financial pressure on individuals and businesses struggling with fallout from a virus that has closed schools, kept workers at home and disrupted supply chains.
The I.R.S. could extend the tax payment deadline or waive penalties and interest for late payments.
The plan, which was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, came as Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee wrote to Charles Rettig, the I.R.S. commissioner, to ask for an update on the effect of the outbreak on tax filing season and for an evaluation of whether the agency needed to re-evaluate the traditional April 15 deadline.
On Monday, as stock markets plunged, President Trump said the administration would consider economic stimulus options, including a payroll tax cut and other relief. Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said on Tuesday that the administration could use executive authority to help individuals and businesses, noting that “we have leverage on tax deferral.”
Delaying tax day would also ease logistical problems that the I.R.S. could face if more government workers were forced to work remotely. The tax collection agency has service centers across the country that require staff to have face-to-face contact with the general public.
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, on Capitol Hill this month.
The Treasury Department is considering delaying tax payments beyond the April 15 deadline, according to a person familiar with the plans, as taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service brace for economic disruption from the spread of the coronavirus.
Treasury and White House officials have been discussing the idea of extending the tax deadline over the past week as the administration considers measures to relieve financial pressure on individuals and businesses struggling with fallout from a virus that has closed schools, kept workers at home and disrupted supply chains.
The I.R.S. could extend the tax payment deadline or waive penalties and interest for late payments.
The plan, which was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, came as Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee wrote to Charles Rettig, the I.R.S. commissioner, to ask for an update on the effect of the outbreak on tax filing season and for an evaluation of whether the agency needed to re-evaluate the traditional April 15 deadline.
On Monday, as stock markets plunged, President Trump said the administration would consider economic stimulus options, including a payroll tax cut and other relief. Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said on Tuesday that the administration could use executive authority to help individuals and businesses, noting that “we have leverage on tax deferral.”
Delaying tax day would also ease logistical problems that the I.R.S. could face if more government workers were forced to work remotely. The tax collection agency has service centers across the country that require staff to have face-to-face contact with the general public.
Peppermynt
Defying Gravity
This is scary as ****
I heard this morning they've confirmed a case in my area (Loudoun County, VA). Haven't read the details yet but I'm not trying not to leave the house anytime soon.
vevster
Well-Known Member
Add Cornell to this list. They are going to online learning.I'm wondering about our HBCUs especially those in confirmed states (which is just about all of them now).
Here Are The Schools Going Online Amid Coronavirus Fears
Across the country, colleges and universities are electing to offer classes online rather than in person to avoid spreading the disease.
A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are switching to online rather than in-person courses in response to the spread of coronavirus across the United States. As of Monday afternoon, at least a dozen institutions of higher learning have either canceled in-person courses entirely or shifted the majority of their operations online.
Colleges and universities across the country are closing down their classrooms to avoid spreading coronavirus.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose to more than 550 Sunday, including 22 deaths, but the true scale remains unknown largely because the Trump administration continues to downplay its impact.
Regardless, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued guidance to colleges and universities on how to cope with campus closures, class cancellations and the transition to courses offered online. Here is a list of the colleges and universities that have elected to go online amid fears about coronavirus.
Amherst College
Daytime view of the the Johnson Chapel standing at the center of College Row on the Amherst College campus.
On March 9, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, announced it will transition to online courses when spring break ends on March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. Amherst President Biddy Martin said in a statement that classes would be canceled March 12 and March 13 to allow faculty and staff time to develop “alternate modes of delivering courses.”
Brandman University
Brandman University’s campus in San Diego. Most of the university’s classes in California and Washington are already online.
On March 6, Brandman University, a private college based in California and Washington, announced the school will suspend the majority of its on-campus courses. About 85% of Brandman’s courses are taken online, according to the university.
“University leaders developing Brandman’s response to this public health crisis anticipate the switch to entirely online course delivery can be achieved with minimal or no disruptions to students’ academic progress,” the university said in a statement.
Columbia University
Columbia University in New York City suspended classes for two days to prepare for online instruction.
Columbia University, based in New York City, suspended class on March 9 and March 10 to prepare the university for a week of exclusively online courses.
“This suspension of activities will allow us to prepare to shift to remote classes for the remainder of the week,” Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger said in a statement. There have been more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York to date and at least 20 confirmed case in New York City specifically.
Harvard University
The Harvard Widener Library on Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On March 10, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced in an email to students that it will move to remote instruction beginning March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. The university is reportedly also asking students not to return to campus when spring break ends on March 22.
Hofstra University
Hofstra University’s campus on Long Island has canceled in-person classes.
On March 8, Hofstra University, located on Long Island in New York, announced it would cancel in-person classes following a student’s reported symptoms of coronavirus after attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland.
The American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, announced one of its attendees tested positive for coronavirus. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) recently entered self-quarantine after discovering they had interacted with the infected individual at last month’s conference.
Middlebury College
On March 10, Middlebury College in Vermont announced it will dismiss students for spring break on March 13, one week earlier than scheduled. Students returning for the rest of the semester will begin taking courses remotely on March 30. University President Laurie Patton said the school has an obligation to provide quality education and a safe, healthy environment.
Subscribe to The Morning Email.
Wake up to the day's most important news.
“The rapidly developing circumstances of the novel coronavirus now require extraordinary changes to our usual practices to fulfill those obligations,” Patton said.
Princeton University
A student walks toward Princeton University’s Nassau Hall. The college plans to begin “virtual instruction” starting March 23.
On March 9, Princeton University in New Jersey announced it will offer its courses exclusively online when students return from spring break on March 23.
The transition will include “a mandatory, temporary move for all lectures, seminars, and precepts to virtual instruction starting on Monday, March 23,” the university said in a statement.
Rice University
Rice University in Houston is preparing for the possibility of online classes only after an employee contracted the virus.
Rice University in Texas announced on March 8 all of its classes for the week of March 9 will be canceled as the university prepares to possibly offer all of its courses exclusively online.
One employee at the university was confirmed to have contracted the virus, and Rice has since closed the hall where that employee worked until further notice.
Seattle University
Seattle University campus suspended in-person classes on March 9 after several coronavirus cases were confirmed in Washington state.
On March 9, Seattle University in Washington announced it will suspend all in-person classes and offer its courses online from March 9 until March 20. Despite the discovery of several coronavirus infections in Washington, Seattle University said there have been no confirmed cases in their “campus community.”
In a statement, the university said it is taking these steps “out of an abundance of caution and to support public health efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the region, including social distancing.”
Smith College
On March 10, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, announced it will offer in-person classes through March 13, but all courses will be delivered through “alternate modes” beginning March 30. Smith College President Kathleen McCartney said the decision to suspend in-person classes was made “to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us — those students, staff and faculty on the CDC’s list of those who are at a higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.”
Stanford University
Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, has suspended in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 9, Stanford University announced it will suspend all in-person courses for the remainder of the winter semester, effective immediately. In a statement, university Provost Persis Drell said California public health officials recommended encouraging good personal hygiene “but also minimizing close contact among groups of people.”
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley, will hold classes remotely.
Officials from the University of California, Berkeley, told students Monday that they were suspending nearly all in-person classes until after spring break ends later this month.
“There are no confirmed cases on our campus at this time; however, as local, national, and global public health recommendations shift to include mitigation of transmission, the campus is proactively taking steps that will help to protect the community,” Chancellor Carol Christ wrote in an email to students.
Most classes will be conducted online. Those that require in-person instruction ― arts, physical education or lab sciences ― will continue to meet in person when necessary.
University of Washington
The University of Washington’s main campus in Seattle. It also plans to suspend in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 6, University of Washington announced it will also suspend in-person instruction for the remainder of the semester, effective immediately.
“These actions are being taken in response to recommendations from public health agencies to avoid bringing large groups of people together in close proximity for events and gatherings,” university officials said in a statement.
Lylddlebit
Well-Known Member
You know whats funny though? Most black folks I know stay stocked up on soap, soap powder toilet paper and bleach. This isn't to say we all didn't get a few extra things at the warning but that's something I normally see in family member cabinets in bulk. My mom was talking about how she went to the store this past week and wasn't nothing there and I was like "so you don't already have a year's worth stored up?" and she just started laughing like "you know me!"
vevster
Well-Known Member
I live alone and buy tp in those huge packages. Paper towels too....
The smell of lysol is all over our office. Everyone is opening doors with paper towels / elbows etc and sanitizing everything.
Last edited:
awhyley
Well-Known Member
Is this life?
Coronavirus Conference Gets Canceled Because of Coronavirus
So much for keeping business rolling during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Council on Foreign Relations has canceled a roundtable called “Doing Business Under Coronavirus” scheduled for Friday in New York due to the spread of the infection itself. CFR has also canceled other in-person conferences that were scheduled from March 11 to April 3, including roundtables in New York and Washington and national events around the U.S.
The CFR’s confabs are joining a long list of canceled or postponed gatherings, including the annual New York auto show. The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association said Tuesday that the car show will be rescheduled to late August.
Events in metro New York are coming under close scrutiny due to an increase in cases in the city and, in particular, an outbreak in the suburb of New Rochelle. The National Guard will be sent to the town to help close public gathering spaces in an effort to slow the spread of the outbreak, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference.
Across the U.S., the spread of the novel virus has so far scuttled more than 50 major corporate events with an estimated attendance of almost 1 million people, according to data collected by Bloomberg News.
Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nference-gets-canceled-because-of-coronavirus
Coronavirus Conference Gets Canceled Because of Coronavirus
So much for keeping business rolling during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Council on Foreign Relations has canceled a roundtable called “Doing Business Under Coronavirus” scheduled for Friday in New York due to the spread of the infection itself. CFR has also canceled other in-person conferences that were scheduled from March 11 to April 3, including roundtables in New York and Washington and national events around the U.S.
The CFR’s confabs are joining a long list of canceled or postponed gatherings, including the annual New York auto show. The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association said Tuesday that the car show will be rescheduled to late August.
Events in metro New York are coming under close scrutiny due to an increase in cases in the city and, in particular, an outbreak in the suburb of New Rochelle. The National Guard will be sent to the town to help close public gathering spaces in an effort to slow the spread of the outbreak, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference.
Across the U.S., the spread of the novel virus has so far scuttled more than 50 major corporate events with an estimated attendance of almost 1 million people, according to data collected by Bloomberg News.
Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nference-gets-canceled-because-of-coronavirus
vevster
Well-Known Member
You know I KNOW this, but Cadbury Crispy Chocolate eggs are my fav candy in the whole wide WORLD!!!
Last edited:
TrulyBlessed
Well-Known Member
rayne
Well-Known Member
Yes!! My co-workers have been joking about not touching your face or shaking hands but even with everything going on they're still not washing their hands or covering their mouths/noses!! Like wth is it going to take for you to start practicing basic hygiene??
vevster
Well-Known Member
Really? I guess if your aren't brought up to be clean....
awhyley
Well-Known Member
It doesn't look good for our German friends . . .
Angela Merkel warns 70 percent of Germany could get coronavirus
German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a stark warning Wednesday, citing expert estimates that up to 60 to 70 percent of the population could be infected by the coronavirus.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin alongside Jens Spahn, German's health minister, Merkel said there was no known cure and the focus would be on slowing the spread of the virus.
“When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70 percent of the population will be infected,” she said. The population of Germany is about 58 million people.
“The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus’ spread … It’s about winning time,” she added, according to Reuters.
As of Wednesday, Germany had almost 1,300 cases of the virus, according to the Robert Koch Institute for disease control, and three deaths.
Comparatively, Italy has been the worst-hit European nation, with more than 10,000 cases and 631 deaths, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
David Jacobson, a professor of global business strategy at SMU's Cox School of Business and a visiting professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told Fox News earlier this month that Germany had "taken this disease seriously since December."
They are committed to transparency, testing and have devoted a huge amount of resources to track sources of what appears to be community spread so that the root cause of each chain can be found and those connected in any way can be warned, isolated, tested, etc.," he said. "On March 3, the Italian government was still deciding if this was an Asian problem or something different. When an Italian senator wore a face mask to the senate chambers, he was ridiculed."
Nonetheless, Merkel had yet to address the situation publicly and had been criticized in the media for her failure of leadership.
“No appearances, no speech, no leadership in the crisis,” the German daily Bild wrote.
Both Merkel and Spahn, who is leading his country's response to the virus, have ruled out sealing Germany's borders to prevent the virus spreading, rejecting calls to follow neighbor Austria's lead.
"This is a test for our solidarity, our common sense and care for each other. And I hope we pass the test," Merkel said during the press conference.
But the chancellor also said she would not rule out suspending a so-called "black zero" budget – keeping the books balance – to help fight the virus.
Germany’s federal system of government has come under the spotlight as the response to the virus comes to the forefront. Under the system, power is devolved to the 16 states and regional authorities to decide whether to take up Spahn’s advice to cancel events with over 1,000 participants.
Earlier Wednesday, Spahn said it was “astonishing” that no decision was taken to call off a soccer match between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich scheduled in Berlin on Saturday. There has since been an announcement that the game would take place behind closed doors.
Link: https://www.msn.com/en-xl/europe/eu...virus/ar-BB112TUB?li=BBJDXDP&ocid=mailsignout
Angela Merkel warns 70 percent of Germany could get coronavirus
German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a stark warning Wednesday, citing expert estimates that up to 60 to 70 percent of the population could be infected by the coronavirus.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin alongside Jens Spahn, German's health minister, Merkel said there was no known cure and the focus would be on slowing the spread of the virus.
“When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70 percent of the population will be infected,” she said. The population of Germany is about 58 million people.
“The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus’ spread … It’s about winning time,” she added, according to Reuters.
As of Wednesday, Germany had almost 1,300 cases of the virus, according to the Robert Koch Institute for disease control, and three deaths.
Comparatively, Italy has been the worst-hit European nation, with more than 10,000 cases and 631 deaths, according to the Civil Protection Agency.
David Jacobson, a professor of global business strategy at SMU's Cox School of Business and a visiting professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told Fox News earlier this month that Germany had "taken this disease seriously since December."
They are committed to transparency, testing and have devoted a huge amount of resources to track sources of what appears to be community spread so that the root cause of each chain can be found and those connected in any way can be warned, isolated, tested, etc.," he said. "On March 3, the Italian government was still deciding if this was an Asian problem or something different. When an Italian senator wore a face mask to the senate chambers, he was ridiculed."
Nonetheless, Merkel had yet to address the situation publicly and had been criticized in the media for her failure of leadership.
“No appearances, no speech, no leadership in the crisis,” the German daily Bild wrote.
Both Merkel and Spahn, who is leading his country's response to the virus, have ruled out sealing Germany's borders to prevent the virus spreading, rejecting calls to follow neighbor Austria's lead.
"This is a test for our solidarity, our common sense and care for each other. And I hope we pass the test," Merkel said during the press conference.
But the chancellor also said she would not rule out suspending a so-called "black zero" budget – keeping the books balance – to help fight the virus.
Germany’s federal system of government has come under the spotlight as the response to the virus comes to the forefront. Under the system, power is devolved to the 16 states and regional authorities to decide whether to take up Spahn’s advice to cancel events with over 1,000 participants.
Earlier Wednesday, Spahn said it was “astonishing” that no decision was taken to call off a soccer match between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich scheduled in Berlin on Saturday. There has since been an announcement that the game would take place behind closed doors.
Link: https://www.msn.com/en-xl/europe/eu...virus/ar-BB112TUB?li=BBJDXDP&ocid=mailsignout
cocosweet
Well-Known Member
I believe it. They had to put limits on TP, alcohol, and wipes at Costco to give everyone a chance of getting some.
Ms. Tarabotti
Well-Known Member
I buy facial tissues at Costco- the towel paper and toilet paper are too heavy to carry on the train. I do buy the gigantic packs of towel paper and toilet paper nearer to home and I live alone as well.
Ms. Tarabotti
Well-Known Member
I'm wondering about our HBCUs especially those in confirmed states (which is just about all of them now).
Here Are The Schools Going Online Amid Coronavirus Fears
Across the country, colleges and universities are electing to offer classes online rather than in person to avoid spreading the disease.
A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are switching to online rather than in-person courses in response to the spread of coronavirus across the United States. As of Monday afternoon, at least a dozen institutions of higher learning have either canceled in-person courses entirely or shifted the majority of their operations online.
Colleges and universities across the country are closing down their classrooms to avoid spreading coronavirus.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose to more than 550 Sunday, including 22 deaths, but the true scale remains unknown largely because the Trump administration continues to downplay its impact.
Regardless, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued guidance to colleges and universities on how to cope with campus closures, class cancellations and the transition to courses offered online. Here is a list of the colleges and universities that have elected to go online amid fears about coronavirus.
Amherst College
Daytime view of the the Johnson Chapel standing at the center of College Row on the Amherst College campus.
On March 9, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, announced it will transition to online courses when spring break ends on March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. Amherst President Biddy Martin said in a statement that classes would be canceled March 12 and March 13 to allow faculty and staff time to develop “alternate modes of delivering courses.”
Brandman University
Brandman University’s campus in San Diego. Most of the university’s classes in California and Washington are already online.
On March 6, Brandman University, a private college based in California and Washington, announced the school will suspend the majority of its on-campus courses. About 85% of Brandman’s courses are taken online, according to the university.
“University leaders developing Brandman’s response to this public health crisis anticipate the switch to entirely online course delivery can be achieved with minimal or no disruptions to students’ academic progress,” the university said in a statement.
Columbia University
Columbia University in New York City suspended classes for two days to prepare for online instruction.
Columbia University, based in New York City, suspended class on March 9 and March 10 to prepare the university for a week of exclusively online courses.
“This suspension of activities will allow us to prepare to shift to remote classes for the remainder of the week,” Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger said in a statement. There have been more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York to date and at least 20 confirmed case in New York City specifically.
Harvard University
The Harvard Widener Library on Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On March 10, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced in an email to students that it will move to remote instruction beginning March 23 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus. The university is reportedly also asking students not to return to campus when spring break ends on March 22.
Hofstra University
Hofstra University’s campus on Long Island has canceled in-person classes.
On March 8, Hofstra University, located on Long Island in New York, announced it would cancel in-person classes following a student’s reported symptoms of coronavirus after attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland.
The American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, announced one of its attendees tested positive for coronavirus. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) recently entered self-quarantine after discovering they had interacted with the infected individual at last month’s conference.
Middlebury College
On March 10, Middlebury College in Vermont announced it will dismiss students for spring break on March 13, one week earlier than scheduled. Students returning for the rest of the semester will begin taking courses remotely on March 30. University President Laurie Patton said the school has an obligation to provide quality education and a safe, healthy environment.
Subscribe to The Morning Email.
Wake up to the day's most important news.
“The rapidly developing circumstances of the novel coronavirus now require extraordinary changes to our usual practices to fulfill those obligations,” Patton said.
Princeton University
A student walks toward Princeton University’s Nassau Hall. The college plans to begin “virtual instruction” starting March 23.
On March 9, Princeton University in New Jersey announced it will offer its courses exclusively online when students return from spring break on March 23.
The transition will include “a mandatory, temporary move for all lectures, seminars, and precepts to virtual instruction starting on Monday, March 23,” the university said in a statement.
Rice University
Rice University in Houston is preparing for the possibility of online classes only after an employee contracted the virus.
Rice University in Texas announced on March 8 all of its classes for the week of March 9 will be canceled as the university prepares to possibly offer all of its courses exclusively online.
One employee at the university was confirmed to have contracted the virus, and Rice has since closed the hall where that employee worked until further notice.
Seattle University
Seattle University campus suspended in-person classes on March 9 after several coronavirus cases were confirmed in Washington state.
On March 9, Seattle University in Washington announced it will suspend all in-person classes and offer its courses online from March 9 until March 20. Despite the discovery of several coronavirus infections in Washington, Seattle University said there have been no confirmed cases in their “campus community.”
In a statement, the university said it is taking these steps “out of an abundance of caution and to support public health efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the region, including social distancing.”
Smith College
On March 10, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, announced it will offer in-person classes through March 13, but all courses will be delivered through “alternate modes” beginning March 30. Smith College President Kathleen McCartney said the decision to suspend in-person classes was made “to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us — those students, staff and faculty on the CDC’s list of those who are at a higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.”
Stanford University
Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, has suspended in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 9, Stanford University announced it will suspend all in-person courses for the remainder of the winter semester, effective immediately. In a statement, university Provost Persis Drell said California public health officials recommended encouraging good personal hygiene “but also minimizing close contact among groups of people.”
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley, will hold classes remotely.
Officials from the University of California, Berkeley, told students Monday that they were suspending nearly all in-person classes until after spring break ends later this month.
“There are no confirmed cases on our campus at this time; however, as local, national, and global public health recommendations shift to include mitigation of transmission, the campus is proactively taking steps that will help to protect the community,” Chancellor Carol Christ wrote in an email to students.
Most classes will be conducted online. Those that require in-person instruction ― arts, physical education or lab sciences ― will continue to meet in person when necessary.
University of Washington
The University of Washington’s main campus in Seattle. It also plans to suspend in-person classes for the rest of the current semester.
On March 6, University of Washington announced it will also suspend in-person instruction for the remainder of the semester, effective immediately.
“These actions are being taken in response to recommendations from public health agencies to avoid bringing large groups of people together in close proximity for events and gatherings,” university officials said in a statement.
Add Adelphi University and Pace University (both in NYC) to the list. My sister teaches at both and will spend her spring break learning how to do online teaching/remote access. She teaches psychology and statistics so while some of her classes might easily lend themselves to being taught on line, you can't really run labs that way. And what happens to the hard sciences like chemistry and biology when you don't have access to the labs to do your work?
gn1g
Well-Known Member
I have a huge amount of TP, but am really not worried about it because you can use a towel or news paper or what eer 3 rd world countries use IF NECESSARY.
anyway please pray for the cure to come quicker than quick.
did yall see naomi cambell
https://theblast.com/c/naomi-campbe...airport-amid-coronavirus-fears-pics-instagram
I am not mad at her
anyway please pray for the cure to come quicker than quick.
did yall see naomi cambell
https://theblast.com/c/naomi-campbe...airport-amid-coronavirus-fears-pics-instagram
I am not mad at her
meka72
Well-Known Member
rayne
Well-Known Member
Well, this training event just got cancelled. And so have all the classes at Uinv of Cincinnati as well as Michigan State Univ.
I'm still not caught up yet so sorry if that has been posted already.
discodumpling
Well-Known Member
Hmmmmm so not one HBCU feels the need to shut down? Curiouser & curiouser
Anyway my Chinese coworker is looking for sympathy or empathy whichever but I ain't got none to give!! Shes talmbout bout the idiots spraying obvious Asians with FEBREEZE & LYSOL. They gone be aiite...they dont need me to raise my pressure but this.
Anyway my Chinese coworker is looking for sympathy or empathy whichever but I ain't got none to give!! Shes talmbout bout the idiots spraying obvious Asians with FEBREEZE & LYSOL. They gone be aiite...they dont need me to raise my pressure but this.
naturalgyrl5199
Well-Known Member
A doctor on the ground in Wuhan said that people there had to eat with masks on at their own dinner table. One patient was exposed at work then apparently, just eating dinner with his family at the table, they infected the rest through normal dinner talk. They as hospital employees are directed to eat their lunch separately and away from each other, never in the cafeteria, and if so, at least 10 feet apart.... It got sooo bad.
Similar threads
