The current outbreak of coronavirus, COVID-19, has made its way to the state of New Hampshire. On Monday, March 2, state health officials announced that the first case of coronavirus in the state has been confirmed.
The infected individual is an adult from Grafton County who recently visited Italy, according to NBC 10 Boston. According to state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan, the individual is not sick enough to be hospitalized, so they are on home isolation. According to WMUR, it has been confirmed that the individual is an employee of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock healthcare system.
On Friday, February 28, the president’s office sent out an email about preemptive steps the college is taking. “Staff in the Wellness Center continues to closely monitor the situation and is receiving updates and guidance from local, state, and federal partners about the coronavirus outbreak. The College has a response plan in place that will guide decisions along with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the email reads.
A separate email was also sent out concerning the wellbeing of KSC students who are studying abroad. All four KSC students who were studying in Italy, which is currently at a Level 3 alert from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), are promptly returning back to the U.S.
“We are assisting them with travel, and the students will remain off campus for 14 days, which is the length of time needed for symptoms to present and a possible diagnosis to be made. We are providing the students with information on how to care for their health, how to monitor for symptoms, and what to do if symptoms occur,” the email reads.
The Equinox will print a full-length story in our next issue on Keene State’s response to this outbreak and any next steps that may be taken on campus. More information on the coronavirus can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html.
Rachel Vitello can be contacted at
rvitello@kscequinox.com
