Coronavirus Declared a Pandemic, Is COS Prepared?

Coronavirus+Declared+a+Pandemic%2C+Is+COS+Prepared%3F

Bobby

Coronavirus has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, so what is COS doing to protect us?

According to Joan Daniels, manager at the COS Health Center, there are no current cases of Coronavirus in Tulare or Kings county.

However, safety is the Health Center’s number one priority and as Daniels puts it, “people are concerned.” As a result, the college and Health Center are making precautionary preparations.

The first of these preparations was an email sent out by the college giving general information about Coronavirus and links to external resources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There is also a CDC handout provided in the Health Center.

The college ordered 60 new hand sanitizing stations that will be placed in public areas around campus such as the Learning Resource Center and the cafeteria. Disinfectant misting machines have also been purchased for classrooms and “high-germ areas.”

Disinfectant wipes have been ordered for all classrooms and offices on campus to “wipe down desks or chairs, or a table in the cafeteria before eating,” Daniels said.

Students have been instructed to clean their desks with disinfectant wipes before or after each class session.

COS has launched a social media campaign updating on the college’s social media every week. A task force has also been assembled to meet three times a week.

Stores like Costco and Target have been experiencing shortages on products like toilet paper, disinfectants, and bottled water. Daniels commented on this, “people are panicking from hearing the media, there’s nothing wrong with tap water.”

Daniels also provided some simple ways to combat Coronavirus, “good sanitizing and maintaining good health as you normally would.” She mentioned that students and faculty should not come to school while sick and if you cough, “do a vampire cough, cough into your elbow.”

Daniel suggests that if you believe you might have the virus, “contact your physician for evaluation. Follow your physicians’ recommendations. Your physician may contact the public health department for testing decisions. The antibodies detected by this test indicate that a person had an immune response to SARS-CoV-2, whether symptoms developed from infection or the infection was asymptomatic. There is no specific treatment for covid-19. Follow your physicians’ guidelines to relieve symptoms.”

If students need more information, visit the Health Center or the Health and Wellbeing page on the COS website.

https://www.cos.edu/en-us/Health-Services/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx