Gov. Gavin Newsom issues directives to practice social distancing in response to COVID-19 pandemic
The City of Davis released a message urging residents to shelter-in-place and practice social distancing in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. This message comes after seven Bay Area counties were ordered to shelter-in-place, with Gov. Gavin Newsom saying Monday that he plans to expand this order to the entire state.
On Monday, President Donald Trump and the White House recommended that gatherings throughout the nation be limited to no more than 10 people for the next 15 days. As of today, there are now cases of COVID-19 in all 50 states — there are over 5,700 coronavirus cases nationwide and the death toll in the U.S. has surpassed 100.
As of this morning, the California Department of Public Health reported 472 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state with 11 deaths total. On Sunday, Newsom directed bars and nightclubs in the state to close, and on Monday, he recommended that all movie theaters, gyms and restaurants — except for take-out service — close temporarily. In response to these directives, UC Davis announced it would be closing all campus eateries as well as the Activities and Recreation Center.
UC Davis remains operational, and all dining commons are open, “with more space for social distancing,” according to an article on the university’s website. The CoHo, BioBrew and CoHo South, operated by ASUCD, however, will be closed both this week and the following week. There are plans to reopen these facilities with reduced schedules on March 30, the first official day of Spring Quarter, though all classes will be remote.
UC Davis also recently announced that it would be suspending all of its international and U.S.-based study abroad programs through the summer.
After UC Berkeley officials announced Saturday that a graduate student had tested positive for coronavirus, UC Davis Provost Ralph Hexter released a statement to the campus community via email, highlighting a response plan “for the eventuality of a member of our campus community testing positive for COVID-19.”
According to Hexter’s statement, if “you have personal knowledge of testing positive yourself for COVID-19, or an immediate family member testing positive, or know of a colleague who has tested positive,” immediately contact the following:
Written by: Hannah Holzer — city@theaggie.org
