Yeah, we’re supposed to do it and have in-person labs this week. I managed to defer it all, though, by making the first two weeks of lab virtual — one of the things that ate up my weekend was a last-minute rush to get a video guide together, with some image data for the students to analyze — before we commit to actually meeting students face-to-face in lab, on 8 September for me. Maybe the virus will disappear by then? Maybe the university will come to its senses? Maybe I’ll just have to be brave and risk exposure?
We’ll find out in two weeks!
This is magical thinking.
“Maybe the university will come to its senses, ”
You might as well throw in a few prayers as well.
All LOLing aside, you might want to upgrade your PPE response, at least for the in person lab portions.
And so should your students, of course.
Student lives matter too.
At least an N95 mask.
I don’t know what all UM, Morris is actually doing to prepare for the coming Covid-19 clusters.
.1. They should have an Office of Personal Protective Equipment with a supply of PPE, and someone to fit and train everyone.
.2. An area to quarantine those who have been exposed.
It does no good to test someone, and then tell them two weeks later that they were positive.
Or tell them to quarantine when they have no place to go other than where they live, which is the vast majority of us.
The unit of exposure is the family.
If one person is exposed, the whole family gets it.
.3. Testing.
The university should have a testing procedure and test everyone often.
IIRC, some universities like Yale are testing everyone twice a week.
.4. And don’t forget the coffins.
Those who die get a free complementary coffin or urn for risking their lives to pay their tuition.