After recent events in America, cases of the COVID-19 virus, also known as the 2019 novel coronavirus, have popped up all over New England and the West Coast. After Rhode Island reported a few cases everyone seemed to hold their breath when it made national news. Once it was reported that the COVID-19 virus had spread to New Hampshire, things got a little rough around the edges.
Sophomore class Vice President Theo Avent stated that his main goal is to stay as clean as possible through this whole ordeal.
“I’m kind of a germaphobe, so I’m constantly washing my hands and covering my mouth when I cough,” Avent said.
However, Avent stated that we need to remain calm and rational, as well as put trust in the college and its announcements.
“I believe the college is doing the best they can with the information they have been given. The college’s number one priority is to keep us safe and they are doing just that. They are thinking of the students and the overall health of the students, faculty, and staff here at KSC,” said Avent.
However, he is still afraid that people aren’t taking this epidemic seriously enough. “Everyone should be taking precautions to keep themselves healthy and if they feel like they are getting sick they should notify the school and head to their local doctor to find out if it is something that needs to be addressed immediately or not,” said Avent.
Keene State College has sent out an action plan in the event of an outbreak of the coronavirus on campus. On March 4, the college sent out an email on the action plan for Keene State College. Keene is putting in damage control measures and finding guaranteed places on campus in event of an outbreak to place students. The Zorn Dining Commons is disinfecting and making sure that it’s as sanitary as possible and asking students to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer by the cashiers’ checkouts. The goal is to make sure the college is healthy and safe.
Chris Coolbeth stated that he wasn’t worried at all.
“I think the coronavirus is primarily just one of those stories we get as a result of having our media dictated by private interests,” Coolbeth said. He continued to talk about how he believes that the coronavirus is just a new disease for people to capitalize on. However, he also stated that it could also be a serious epidemic. Either way, he thinks that the college isn’t approaching this appropriately.
“What I think is inappropriate, however, are the constant emails about the virus. Making plans in the background is great, and they should be available to the public upon request, but the college is doing nothing but fuel panic by showering us with statements, such as Residential Life is identifying locations that can be used for quarantine for residential students,” Coolbeth said. Coolbeth also said he believes it’s irresponsible for the college to release statements without thinking of the mass panic it may cause.
For information on how to take extra precautionary measures, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) released information on how to take care of yourself and prevention measures.
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html
Abigail Lashway can be contacted at alashway@kscequinox.com
