On COVID-19


I don't even know how to label this post. Work? Personal? WTF? All of the above?

So, in case you hadn't heard, there has been a lot of activity related to COVID-19 (aka, the Coronavirus) in the past few days. Here at Penn State, like everywhere else, things have gotten hectic with trying to plan for working remotely (at best) or a complete shut-down of the University (at worst).

Last week the University decided to move to a remote learning model for classes, canceled all domestic and international travel, and canceled all on-campus events through April 6th. As you can imagine, those last two items greatly impact the work that we do in the Undergraduate Admissions Office. 

What was not canceled was the day-to-day operation of our office. Even though a majority of our staff are now working remotely, students are still sending email messages, calling in with questions, and submitting applications and related materials. The entirety of my week last week was full of meetings about continuity planning and how we will keep processes flowing for students that have submitted applications for undergraduate admission to Penn State. Not a small task.

Penn State has released any staff that has the ability and can do so to work from home. In all of the flurry of activity, I had not really been worrying about, or even considering the repercussions of COVID-19. 

Over the weekend, a group text with a bunch of my high school buddies started to get some serious activity. One message that came in to the group was particularly striking:


That particular buddy is the vice president of human resources at a large, multi-national corporation (I won't say which one). He's a no-nonsense guy, and isn't one that is prone to hyperbole. He followed that message up yesterday with a forewarning that - according to his sources - there would be a federally-mandated two week quarantine in the United States. You won't be able to leave your house for anything, "only groceries, gas, or pharma".

Dang.

I am not typically the type of person that gets worried about this kind of stuff. Normally I would tell folks to calm down and not worry about stuff. This feels different to me. I'm not freaking out like some, but I definitely find myself making sure that my family has what it needs in case we need to hunker down for a few weeks.

Wash your hands and be smart folks. Unless you need some groceries or are part of the medical profession, or are police/firefighters/EMTs, stay home (and say 'thank you' to the folks in the aforementioned groups!).

Stay healthy, and help others to do the same.



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