Virus disrupts some Vt. college programs

By Jim Sabataso
jim.sabataso @rutlandherald.com
Dustin Lewis has seen the impact of the coronavirus up close.

A 2018 Castleton University graduate, Lewis is currently working independently on a master’s degree in Chinese international relations at Renmin University in Beijing.

After completing the semester, Lewis traveled to Zhejiang Province in the southern part of the country to celebrate Chinese New Year with his girlfriend and her family in January. He said the mountain village is about the size of Castleton.

The coronavirus (COVID -19) — which was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December of last year — now has 87,137 confirmed cases in 58 countries, including the United States, according to the World Health Organization.

The Vermont Department of Health reported that, as of Monday, 57 Vermonters are being monitored for coronavirus symptoms, but there has not yet been a confirmed case within the state.

Lewis said a sense of worry and panic began to take hold in the villages when news of the virus in Wuhan broke. He explained that travel between major cities and rural countryside increases during New Year celebrations as people visit family.

“The potential to bring the virus to the countryside is high and would be harder to contain because of the lack of resources that would be able to handle it,” he said.

He said things began to escalate when someone from a neighboring village who traveled from Wuhan had been diagnosed with the virus.

“I wasn’t able to leave the house for four weeks,” he said.

Roads into the village were eventually blocked with bamboo barricades and signs were put up telling people to stay away.

But while Lewis stayed put, other students are heading back home.

West Rutland native Isabelle Harvey, was one of 19 St. Anselm College students spending the semester in a program in Orvieto, Italy, when U.S. State Department advisory levels began to rise last week.

The junior at the private college located in Manchester, New Hampshire, said the school informed students on Feb. 27 that the program was being suspended and they would be returning to the U.S. on Feb. 29.

Harvey said she and her classmates were “pretty upset,” but understand why the school made the decision.

She said “there were no known cases” in the area in central Italy where she was staying.

Upon returning to Vermont, Harvey said she followed protocol and contacted the Vermont Department of Health. While she is healthy and not under observation or quarantine, health officials will regularly check in with her for the next two weeks.

Colleges around Vermont with study abroad programs are also paying close attention to the spread of coronavirus.

Jeb Spaulding, chancellor of Vermont State College System, said the VSC has been “following the situation closely.”

He said a group a Northern Vermont University students and faculty who had been in Europe within the past few weeks are being monitored by the health department, but isolation has not been deemed necessary.

Spaulding said that while there are currently no confirmed cases to report in the VSC system or in Vermont at large, “we have to anticipate it’s going to happen.”

He said VSC schools have been proactively working with health teams locally as well as with the Department of Health to develop response plans.

“We take it very seriously,” he said.

On Feb. 28, Middlebury College announced it was suspending all programs in Italy after learning the State Department had increased its advisory in some parts of the country to “Level 4: Do Not Travel.”

“In light of this, and because the situation is changing so rapidly, we can’t in good conscience allow you to remain in Italy,” Carlos Vélez, dean of international programs, wrote in a statement.

Vélez expressed concern that even though the number of confirmed cases where students are located in Florence and Rome is “relatively low,” an increase in advisory levels could result in travel restrictions that would leave 24 of the college’s students stranded inside the country.

The college already had suspended programs in China on Jan. 28, affecting 37 students.

In an interview Monday, Vélez said it’s too soon to tell whether additional programs around the world will be suspended as the virus spreads.

At Castleton University, James Lambert, director of marketing and communications, said the school currently has six students studying abroad, three of whom are in Italy.

He said the school works with an outside agency called CIS Abroad, which manages logistics for its programs. Lambert said CIS has decided to recall the students in Italy as a “precaution.” They are scheduled to arrive back in the U.S. on Saturday.

In a statement released Monday, Castleton President Karen Scolforo said, “We are working diligently on being prepared in the event the virus makes its way to our surrounding area.”

Bennington College Dean of Studies Laurie Kobik said Monday that the college has been “proactively reaching out to students.”

While the college does not operate its own study abroad programs, its students are able to apply to them through other academic institutions.

Kobik said students have been “following the guidance their programs are providing.”

Currently, the college has 18 students studying in programs in eight countries. As of yet, none of the programs have been shut down.

Locally, Kobik said Bennington has been communicating with “the whole student body” regarding the virus since January.

At the University of Vermont in Burlington, Gary Derr, vice president for operations and public safety, instructed faculty, staff and students to delay travel to South Korea “until further notice.”

The advisory follows recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a Feb. 28, statement Derr also advised individuals planning trips to Iran, Italy and Japan, to make “contingency plans” in the event the CDC raises alert levels for those countries.

The university also is taking precautions should the coronavirus hit Vermont.

“The UVM Emergency Operations Group has been meeting regularly to prepare campus to handle any immediate or long-term issues related to the coronavirus,” Derr said. “We have also been working and will continue to work with the Vermont Department of Health to coordinate planning and response efforts.”

Back in Zhejiang, Lewis said things have mostly been getting back to normal in the past week. No new cases of the virus have been reported. Restaurants and supermarkets are open; however, shoppers must wear masks and have their temperature taken before entering.

He said that while he can’t speak for the rest of the country, officials in the county where he is living have “handled it the best they can with the resources they have.”

Lewis said he doesn’t have plans to return to the U.S. at the moment.

“It would be safer for me and others to stay where I am now,” he said.

On Monday, Republican Gov. Phil Scott directed Vermont Emergency Management to assemble an interagency task force to support the Department of Health in a coordinated statewide response to the coronavirus.

“This group will be able to develop a COVID-19-specific long-term response plan to support the execution of potential community mitigation measures in the case of an outbreak in Vermont,” said VEM Director Erica Bornemann.

For additional guidance and the latest information from the CDC and Vermont Department of Health, visit healthvermont.gov/covid19 or dial 211.

Safety tips

Person-to-person spread of the virus is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Much is still unknown about how the virus spreads. Take these everyday preventive actions to help stop the spread of germs:

— Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

— Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

— Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

— Stay home when you are sick.

— Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

— Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

If you have recently traveled to countries where there is transmission (China, Iran, South Korea, Italy or Japan), contact the Vermont Department of Health (800-464-4343), which will provide guidance on what to look for and what to do if you develop symptoms that could be from Coronavirus.

At Rutland’s Board of Aldermen meeting Monday, Mayor David Allaire reported he had spoken that day with Rutland Regional Medical Center CEO Claudio Fort and that City Hall would remain in regular contact with the hospital.

“No one has tested positive here locally or at RRMC,” Allaire told the board.

Allaire said the hospital had been preparing for a potential outbreak and had protocols in place for screening and testing potential patients. He said local and state health officials advise frequent hand-washing.

“The virus lives a long time on surfaces and is easily transmitted,” he said. “If you’re sick, please stay home.”

Staff writer Gordon Dritschilo contributed to this report.