According to Eisenberg,
“high-risk individuals should
be more careful with social
distancing.
It
is
critical
that they not be around big
crowds.”
For
lower-risk
people,
Eisenberg
said,
they
“probably won’t have a major
illness but they can contribute
to the transmission. Even
though students aren’t high-
risk they would be effective
in its transmission. So for
example, if you’re traveling a
lot you might not want to visit
your 85-year-old grandma.”
How can we learn from
other affected countries?
Eisenberg
said
South
Korea, where strict isolation
and
social
distancing
measures
were
taken
to
prevent infection, provides
an example of the path the
U.S. should take in slowing
the spread of the virus.
“If we can prevent it from
being too accelerated we
can
prevent
widespread
transmission,”
Eisenberg
said. “We want to look more
like South Korea and less like
Italy. Especially now in this
critical time period, where
cases are just emerging, we
don’t wanna overwhelm the
hospitals and really unroll
widespread testing: identify
the clusters faster and then
it’s a bit more targeted.”
Is there a time period
for how long the virus will
continue to spread?
The answer is still unclear.
“It won’t be surprising
if it is seasonal like other
coronaviruses, but this is a
unique, emerging pathogen
and we are still unsure,”
Eisenberg said.
Reporters Hannah Mackay
and Varsha Vedapudi can be
reached at mackayh@umich.
edu
and
varshakv@umich.
edu.
“We’re taking every step
that we can to mitigate
the
virus
spread
and
keep Michiganders safe,”
Whitmer said in the press
conference.
The
two
diagnosed
cases in Michigan include
a
middle-aged
Oakland
County
woman
who
has
recently
traveled
internationally
and
a
middle-aged Wayne County
man
who
has
recently
traveled domestically.
Michigan
Medicine
announced
Wednesday
morning
the
hospital
is
treating one of the two
confirmed
Michigan
coronavirus cases.
According
to
the
University’s
webpage
on
COVID-19,
individuals
should wash their hands
often with soap for 20
seconds, avoid close contact
with those who are sick and
to stay home when sick to
prevent the spread of the
virus.
Prior to the University’s
decision to move classes
online, universities across
the
state
had
already
suspended
in-person
classes.
Michigan
State
University
suspended
all
face-to-face
classes
beginning at noon today,
MSU
President
Samuel
Stanley announced in an
email
to
MSU
students
this morning. Online class
instruction will last until
April 20.
Central
Michigan
University
also
asked
students not to return to
campus after spring break
and announced they will be
moving their classes online
through March 20. CMU
will make a decision on
whether to continue online
classes on March 19.
Wayne State University
announced
Wednesday
afternoon
it
will
be
extending
spring
break
until March 23 to help plan
for the transition to online
classes.
Other
universities
across the United States
have called off in-person
classes this week, including
Harvard
University
and
Ohio State University.
As
classes
have
been
canceled across the country,
some on social media have
noted the sudden requests
for students to leave campus
may be harder to adjust to
for students who may rely
on university housing or
meal
plans.
Additionally,
they said some students may
depend on work-study as a
source of income.
Others
have
noted
students may not be able
to go home because of
transportation
costs
or
travel
restrictions,
or
because coronavirus may
be more widespread in that
location.
Before
the
University
announced the cancellation
of
classes,
students
on
campus began creating a
spreadsheet
of
resources
to help students who may
be
disproportionately
impacted by the changes.
Michigan
Dining
sent
an
email
to
MDining
employees
Wednesday
afternoon letting students
know they plan to continue
having food available.
The
email
stated
MDining
is
increasing
their sanitation processes
– including the back of the
house
and
some
spaces
leading up to the dining hall.
Additionally, greeters are
no longer swiping M-Cards
and students swipe their
own.
Symptoms of coronavirus
include fever, cough and
shortness of breath. To stop
the spread of the virus, the
Centers for Disease Control
recommend
people
wash
their hands often and avoid
touching their eyes, nose
and mouth.
Daily News Editor Barbara
Collins can be reached at
bcolli@umich.edu.
Daily
News Editor Claire Hao can
be reached at cmhao@umich.
edu.
Daily
News
Editor
Emma Stein can be reached
at enstein@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Thursday, March 12, 2020 — 3
CANCELED
From Page 1
COUNCIL
From Page 1A
The
main
concern,
according
to
Martin,
is
containing its rapid spread.
“Most people that get
this virus aren’t going to be
severely ill,” Martin said.
“When you’ve got a new
virus that’s potentially going
to affect large numbers of
people, what you want to do
is try to slow things down as
much as possible, and a good
way to do that is to stop
people from congregating in
big groups. The University
could do a whole lot by being
as flexible as possible with
allowing students to recover
from at home when they’re
sick.”
Sue Anne Bell, assistant
professor at the School of
Nursing and a specialist
in the effects of health
disasters,
added
that
COVID-19’s effect on the
young, healthy demographic
is minimal while the risk for
elderly populations or those
with chronic diseases is
much greater.
“For people that have no
significant
health
issues,
young
adults
who
are
healthy in general, and also
in children, there have been
fairly low rates of serious
complications,” Bell said.
“The bigger issue is that,
while a college-age student
might contract the virus, it’s
the spreading of the virus to
other groups of people who
have those chronic diseases,
or
an
older
population
where they’re much more
susceptible to some of those
serious effects.”
Sandro Cinti, professor
of
infectious
disease
at
Michigan Medicine who is
involved
in
preparations
for
emerging
infectious
diseases,
commented
on
the misconceptions he has
encountered in comparison
to the reality of the virus.
“I know a lot of people
have visions of many people
dying and being in the
hospital, but very likely
most people will be fine,
they won’t ever have to
even go to the doctor,” Cinti
said. “It’s a disease that we
need to pay attention to,
but generally, people will
do pretty well even if they
get infected with it, and
there are no treatments and
there’s no vaccine at this
time, so it’s really all about
community mitigation.”
Cinti explained some of
the measures that Michigan
Medicine
is
taking
to
prepare
for
COVID-19
patients and how they plan
to keep other patients safe.
“We’re looking at how
we’re
going
to
manage
patients within the hospital,
where we’re going to put
patients, where we would
cohort
patients,
putting
them in certain parts of
the hospital where they
will be so they wouldn’t be
exposed to other patients,”
Cinti said. “There’s only
limited testing right now.
So if somebody wants to
come in and get a test, they
won’t be able to get it …
unless they have symptoms
and a very positive screen
for having been exposed to
Coronavirus.”
With
the
apparent
minimal threat to a young
and healthy demographic
and
the
high
potential
for spread to higher risk
populations,
University
epidemiologists and health
care professionals said the
best courses of large scale
action against COVID-19
are collective efforts to
lower community’s health
risks.
Arnold
Monto,
the
Thomas Francis Collegiate
Professor of Epidemiology
at the School of Public
Health and an international
expert
on
transmission
prevention,
said
in
similar
flu
outbreaks,
pharmaceutical
resources
have been available but
are lacking in the current
situation.
“What
is
really
most
pertinent
in
terms
of
what’s going on now is
the attention on what are
called non pharmaceutical
interventions because the
three pillars of response
to a flu pandemic were
antivirals,
vaccines
and
non-pharmaceutical
intervention,” Monto said.
“We don’t have two of the
pillars for COVID-19.”
With the evident necessity
for
non-pharmaceutical
intervention, Bell proposed
taking the idea of serious
social
distancing
within
the University community
as
opposed
to
mass
quarantines.
“I think we have to move
from this idea of these
large
scale
quarantines
to thinking about social
distancing,” Bell said. “We
don’t have the systems in
place to just flip a switch
and turn to an online class
or cancel classes, but when it
boils down to it, promoting
and preserving the health
of our community might be
the more important thing
to think about than missing
class.”
In
the
past
week,
multiple
universities
across the country have
canceled
in-person
classes in response to the
virus,
including
Harvard
University and Ohio State
University. Many professors
at the University have said
they are preparing to move
classes online in the event
that
the
administration
instructs them to do so.
STAMPS Professor Susan
Funkenstein
has
already
moved her ARTDES 151
class online for a period
of two weeks after being
asked to explore alternative
lecture delivery modes.
Brad
Smith,
associate
dean for academic programs
at the Stamps School of
Art & Design, wrote about
efforts
the
school
was
making to determine the
best way to continue the
semester
when
classes
moved online in an email to
The Daily.
“Like the rest of the
University,
the
Stamps
School of Art & Design
is taking a look at our
current
course
offerings
and evaluating alternative
modes of delivery should the
need arise,” Smith wrote.
“As part of this exploration
and at the request of our
Dean, Guna Nadarajan, two
Stamps
lecturers,
Susan
Funkenstein and Melanie
Manos,
were
asked
to
explore alternative modes
of course delivery for the
lecture component of their
courses.”
Smith also addressed how
University
administration
had instructed faculty to
proceed with planning in
the event that in person
classes are not permitted to
meet.
“University
administration
has
been
asking units to consider
how
we
might
deliver
classes to students under
conditions where students
or faculty might not be
able to attend in person,
in order to be prepared
for a range of conditions,”
Smith wrote. “For students
who
are
currently
self-
quarantining or ill: faculty
at Stamps are ready to
provide
accommodations.
This is being addressed on
a 1-1 basis.”
Students
discussed
varying views on COVID-19
with The Daily, specifically
regarding the health risks
it poses to campus and
the
necessity
for
either
school closure or online
classes instead of in-person
meetings.
LSA
sophomore
Ryan
Fisher, secretary of the
University’s
chapter
of
College
Republicans,
sent an email out to the
organization Sunday night
dismissing concerns that
coronavirus is the “end of
the world.”
“Also, don’t worry so much
about
the
Coronavirus:
the idea that this is the
end of the world is FAKE
NEWS! It’s a virus, not
far removed from normal
flu,” Fisher’s email reads.
“Even if you get the virus,
if your immune system is
half-functional, then you’d
likely survive regardless.
Don’t fall for the HOAX of
world destruction. Literally
wash your hands and stay
home if you’re sick. Easy.”
LSA
freshman
Nick
Schuler,
spokesman
for
College Republicans, told
The Daily the statement
was referencing the panic
that the media is portraying
about the coronavirus.
“Ryan said ‘the idea that
Coronavirus is the end of
the world is fake news!’
This is in reference to the
hyperbolic
fearmongering
done by the media that has
inspired nothing but panic,
making
matters
worse,”
Schuler
said.
“He
also
points out that the survival
rate is very high for those
with functioning immune
systems, also true. We feel
that the school has created
a culture of fear around
the virus rather than one
of understanding and that
the outlook for the virus
is much better than the
doomsday narrative being
put out by alarmists.”
On
Tuesday,
it
was
announced that an EECS
280 midterm exam initially
scheduled for Wednesday
will now be online as a
precaution
against
the
spread of COVID-19.
LSA
freshman
Hadley
Samarco, who is enrolled
in EECS 280, said there
was a lot of backlash to
this decision and gave her
personal reaction to the
change.
“There is a lot of confusion
and backlash right now,
because originally you were
supposed to still abide to
just having a note sheet and
not cheating, and there was
a lot of concern as to how
that’ll work,” Samarco said.
“I appreciate the concern,
but I think it’s more trouble
than it’s worth.”
LSA
freshman
Deanna
Dwyer said she thinks the
University’s emails about
COVID-19
have
been
a
good way to stay informed
and
that
while
certain
professors
are
changing
their attendance policies,
she does not wish to take
online classes.
“I would be really upset
if we have to go to online
classes, just because I feel
like clubs would have to
stop meeting then too,”
Dwyer
said.
“And
not
everyone
has
access
to
computers and this could
really affect those who are
not as economically stable.”
In an effort to keep campus
healthy
for
community
members who are not self-
isolating, the department
of
Environment,
Health
&
Safety
and
Custodial
& Grounds Services are
expanding
their
efforts
to clean heavy-trafficked
areas.
Danielle Sheen, executive
director of EHS, explained
the precautions EHS and
the Custodial and Grounds
Services
are
taking
to
sanitize buildings at the
University
in
an
email
to
The
Daily.“For
main
campus buildings served
by Custodial and Grounds
Services, they have been
increasing their frequency
of cleaning of the high
touch
point
surfaces,”
Sheen wrote. “Dorm rooms
are cleaned by students,
but common areas in dorms
are cleaned by Housing
Custodial
Staff.
They
ramped up their efforts for
cleaning as well with the
return of students from
Spring Break.”
Reporter Jasmin Lee can
be
reached
at
itsshlee@
umich.edu. Reporter Hannah
Mackay can be reached at
mackayh@umich.edu.
CONCERN
From Page 1
The statement said the risk is
low for employees and visitors,
regardless of proximity to
where the patient is located
or whether individuals have
been in the hospital recently.
The statement noted risk is
considered high for those
without protective equipment
with prolonged exposure to
someone with symptoms.
Additionally, the statement
noted
Michigan
Medicine
is monitoring the “rapidly
evolving”
situation
with
state and local public health
officials. Michigan Medicine
has
been
monitoring
the
supply of “crucial” items such
as masks, hand sanitizer and
other protective equipment
and has been placing orders
for additional quantities, the
statement said.
In
an
email
sent
to
Michigan
Medicine
volunteers
Wednesday
afternoon, Loulie Meynard,
Volunteer Services director,
advised volunteers not to
come in for their scheduled
shifts
and
all
absences
starting from March 8 will
not be counted in volunteers’
records.
While
Meynard
said Michigan Medicine is
not saying volunteers may
not come in, she noted that
directive is expected to come
soon.
On Wednesday afternoon,
University
of
Michigan
President
Mark
Schlissel
announced
a
two-day
cancellation of classes. On
Monday, classes will resume
online until the end of the
semester.
Spring
study
abroad programs have been
canceled.
Michigan State University
announced
Wednesday
morning that all in-person
classes will be moved online
through April 20. With the
move, MSU joined schools
including Harvard University,
Indiana University and the
University of Toledo who have
altered in-person education
in response to COVID-19.
Managing
News
Editor
Sayali Amin can be reached
at sayalia@umich.edu. Daily
News Editors Claire Hao and
Alex Harring can be reached
at
cmhao@umich.edu
and
harring@umich.edu.
PATIENT
From Page 1
More than 20 women have
brought
forward
sexual
misconduct claims against
the former provost. In 2009,
an
anonymous
woman
reported that Philbert had
sexually harassed her.
Thomas
Komorowski,
a
former research associate for
the University who worked
in Philbert’s lab at the School
of Public Health in 2003,
claimed in a 2004 lawsuit he
was wrongfully terminated
due
to
an
inappropriate
relationship
between
Philbert
and
a
female
researcher. Philbert denied
that Komorowski was laid off
due to his relationship with
the female researcher and
claimed Komorowski’s grant
aid had run out.
The University retained an
outside firm to investigate
Philbert, a process that is
still ongoing, according to
the statement.
“Once it is complete, a
determination will be made
whether Philbert will be
subject
to
proceedings
to remove him from his
faculty role,” the statement
reads. “Meanwhile, Philbert
will
remain
on
paid
administrative leave from his
duties as a tenured faculty
member.”
Philbert is now on paid
administrative
leave
from
his position as a tenured
professor of toxicology in the
School of Public Health. As
Public Health Dean, Philbert
earned $463,696 in 2016.
In the statement, Schlissel
said the investigation is still
underway,
with
resources
provided to those affected.
“As
the
investigation
continues,
we
encourage
anyone
with
information
to come forward and we
encourage anyone affected
by this issue to use the
confidential
counseling
resources we have set up,”
Schlissel said.
As
provost,
Philbert
was
the
highest-ranking
University
administrator
after
Schlissel.
Philbert
earned about $570,000 a year
in his position, where he also
acted as the top academic
officer and chief budgetary
officer.
Susan M. Collins, former
dean of the Ford School of
Public Policy, was named
acting
provost
in
late
January.
Schlissel now plans to
recommend
Collins
serve
as interim provost at the
Board of Regents meeting on
March 26.
Philbert
was
approved
as provost in June 2017,
assuming
the
office
in
September
of
that
year.
Before that, he served as
dean of the School of Public
Health.
Last fall, Philbert played
a role in the formation of a
faculty group to consider
amending
the
bylaws
regarding the dismissal of
tenured faculty. In October
2019, he met with the Senate
Advisory
Committee
on
University Affairs after the
firing
of
Music,
Theater
& Dance professor David
Daniels for allegations of
sexual
misconduct
and
discussed
amendments
to policies governing the
removal process.
“We have to be very careful
and thoughtful, and quickly
amend the bylaws to protect
tenure and to protect our
faculty and to protect society
from the bad behavior that is
frequently in the headlines,”
Philbert said at the meeting.
Managing
News
Editor
Leah Graham can be reached
at
leahgra@michigandaily.
com.
Daily
News
Editors
Barbara Collins and Emma
Stein
can
be
reached
at
bcolli@michigandaily.com
and
enstein@michigandaily.
com.
PHILBERT
From Page 1
QUESTIONS
From Page 2