Coronavirus Briefs - March 12, 2020

LOCAL COLLEGES PUT PLANS IN PLACE

Both The Citadel and the College of Charleston are responding to coronavirus concerns at their campuses.

According to The Citadel’s website, a non-Citadel attendee at a conference in Washington, D.C., attended by 55 members of a cadet club, has a confirmed case of COVID-19. The Citadel officials report they have the names of those cadets and are actively monitoring the situation. As of 10 days after their return, no one is reporting symptoms.

The Maryland Department of Health screened thousands of employees at the hotel where the conference was held. To date, no additional cases have been found, and the Maryland Department of Health has not implemented any restrictions for those employees.

At the College of Charleston, President Andrew T. Hsu sent a letter to students announcing the college will conduct a test and classes will be held online Thursday, March 12.

“As you may be aware, some colleges and universities in other parts of the country have suspended in-classroom instruction due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Hsu. “While I hope that this does not become a reality for our institution, it is imperative that we plan for this possibility, and this one-day test will help us to do so.”

In-person classes from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, are suspended, though students are asked to check with individual faculty members about how their class will be conducted.

As of press time, the college reported it was working on a website with resources for learning remotely and students would directly receive a link to this new information.

VCO, WTA ANNOUNCE TOURNAMENT PROTOCOLS

Volvo Car Open officials, along with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), are putting preventative measures in place ahead of the tournament that begins April 4 on Daniel Island.

“The health and safety of our players, employees, volunteers, fans, partners and everyone associated with the Volvo Car Open continues to be our number one priority,” officials announced. “We are working closely with the WTA Tour, Medical University of South Carolina and the City of Charleston to establish additional protocols to promote the health and safety of all participants and fans at our tournament. We will continue to monitor all reports and make any updates as necessary.”

The general precautionary measures are as follows:

● Adding hand sanitizers to all public spaces at the facility;

● Adding additional ecology personnel for constant sanitizing of all areas throughout the tournament;

● Training food and beverage personnel onsite for proper sanitization protocols;

● Providing gloves to volunteers taking tickets. Additional precautions for the players include:

● All ball kids will be wearing long sleeve shirts and rubber gloves;

● Players will be the only ones to handle their towels and drinks;

● Hand sanitizers will be placed on court and in all player spaces.

For more tournament information, go to VolvoCarOpen.com.

BENEFITFOCUS CONVERTS CONFERENCE TO DIGITAL EVENT

Benefitfocus Inc. has changed its annual conference, One Place 2020, scheduled for March 17-19 in Charleston, to a digital event, citing the necessity to protect the health of those attending the event.

“With the growing spread of the coronavirus and the uncertainty surrounding it, we have decided to shift One Place 2020 to be a digital conference,” said Ray August, president and CEO of Benefitfocus, in a statement. “We plan to deliver an engaging and inspiring virtual experience that will bring our ecosystem the best of One Place. I’m looking forward to our team delivering the innovation and announcements we had originally planned in an exciting new way online.”

For more information, contact oneplace@benefitfocus.com.

RED CROSS URGES HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS TO GIVE BLOOD

The American Red Cross is calling on healthy, eligible individuals who are feeling well to give blood or platelets to help maintain a sufficient blood supply and prevent shortages as concerns about COVID-19 rise.

“As fears of coronavirus rise, low donor participation could harm blood availability at hospitals, and the last thing a patient should worry about is whether lifesaving blood will be on the shelf when they need it most.”said Chris Hrouda, president of Red Cross Blood Services.

Make an appointment to donate blood by using the Red Cross Blood Donor app, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS.