UC Davis Update On Coronavirus: Messages Urge Mutual Respect

From the University of California, Davis:

February 28, 2020

Updated 10 a.m. Feb. 28: University leaders are urging members of the campus community to take an active role in rejecting xenophobia, bigotry and racism associated with COVID-19.

“If you are in a situation where you see or experience xenophobic activity or any level of disrespect, racism or bigotry, we ask you to be active not passive,” said a joint statement by Renetta Garrison Tull, vice chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Emily Galindo, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “Stand with your fellow colleague, student or peer to de-escalate the incident.”

Hendry Ton, associate vice chancellor for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, said in an earlier statement that health care providers must be aware that physical ailments don’t happen in a vacuum, and are affected by a patient’s social and economic circumstances.

“The lesson here is that to truly address illness and suffering, we must equally address the biological roots and the social ones,” he said.

Read the two statements here.

Updated 4 p.m. Feb. 27: UC Davis held a media availability this afternoon on the Davis campus’ response to COVID-19. A video of that event can be downloaded here or watched above. The speakers were:

• Cindy Schorzman, medical director of Student Health and Counseling Services, UC Davis
• Michael Sheehan, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs: Housing, Dining and Divisional Operations
• Ron Chapman, Yolo County health officer

A transcript of the video recording of the media availability is available online.

Updated 3 p.m. Feb. 27: Chancellor Gary S. May and UC Davis Health Vice Chancellor and CEO David Lubarsky issue a statement to the Davis and Sacramento campuses, advising of three people from the Davis campus who are currently in isolation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is testing one for COVID-19, while the other two are asymptomatic and, following CDC guidance, have not been tested.

Read the statement in its entirety.

Updated 7:50 a.m. Feb. 27: In a letter to employees, UC Davis Health advises that a patient is being treated at the medical center for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). “Since the patient arrived with a suspected viral infection, our care teams have been taking the proper infection prevention (contact droplet) precautions during the patient’s stay,” the letter states. “This is not the first COVID-19 patient we have treated, and because of the precautions we have had in place since this patient’s arrival, we believe there has been minimal potential for exposure here at UC Davis Medical Center.”

Read the letter in its entirety.

Updated 7 a.m. Feb. 27: Expanding on her earlier directive, UC President Janet Napolitano instructs the UC community to temporarily avoid all nonessential, university-related travel to countries with a CDC health designation of Warning Level 3. At this time, Warning Level 3 applies to South Korea as well as China (excluding the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong).

Read Global Affairs’ complete update.

Updated 6:55 p.m. Feb. 25: Global Affairs has updated its travel advisories page with new notices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• South Korea — Warning Level 3, avoid all nonessential travel. University travelers are advised to avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea. Travelers should also avoid layover travel that passes through South Korea.
• Iran, Italy and Japan — Alert Level 2, practice enhanced precautions.
• Hong Kong — Watch Level 1, practice usual precautions.

Read Global Affairs’ complete update.

Updated 11:30 p.m. Feb. 13: Global Affairs has posted a travel FAQ. Topics include travel to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan; whether to reschedule travel to other areas in Asia; and restrictions affecting people traveling on Chinese passports, when trying to enter other countries. The FAQ also includes links for airline restrictions by country, and airline restrictions by airline.

Updated Feb. 10: Watch UC Davis Live discussion on coronavirus, recorded Feb. 6 and featuring Tracey Goldstein and Christine Johnson, associate directors, UC Davis One Health Institute.

Updated 11:30 a.m. Feb. 7: Cindy Schorzman, medical director of Student Health and Counseling Services, reported this morning that there is no case of coronavirus or suspected case under investigation on campus or in Yolo County.

Updated 9 p.m. Feb. 3: Global Affairs updated its coronavirus travel advisory with announcements from the departments of State and Homeland Security.

• Department of Homeland Security — As of Feb. 2, returning U.S. citizens who have traveled in China within 14 days of their arrival are being routed to one of seven designated airports where the government has enhanced public health resources in order to implement enhanced screening procedures. U.S. citizens who have been in Hubei province within 14 days of their return will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine. Foreign nationals who have traveled in China within 14 days of their arrival will be denied entry into the United States.
• Department of State — Mission China, which includes the U.S. Embassy and all consulates, are closed to the public, Feb. 3-7, in accordance with Chinese government guidance. Emergency services for U.S. citizens are available. U.S. citizens can sign up for notifications for Americans traveling in China.

Updated 4 p.m. Feb. 1: Yolo County, in which the Davis campus is located, has added a resource and information page about the coronavirus. It includes how the county is responding to the situation as well as information about the virus, its symptoms, preventions tips and other resources. The county indicates that as of Jan. 31, it had no confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

Updated 5 p.m. Jan. 31: UC Davis continues to think locally and globally regarding the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, and is spreading around the world.

INFLUENZA

Protecting yourself against the flu is protecting yourself from “a real and present danger right now here at home,” UC Davis Health’s chief nursing and patient services officer, Toby Marsh, said in a memo to all staff late this afternoon (Jan. 31).

“An estimated 15 million people have been infected by the flu this season, with more than 8,000 deaths so far. In our Emergency Department, we are seeing about 150 people a week for influenza. In the past two weeks, nearly half have tested positive for it.”

The main campus and health system have been stressing to students and others the importance of adhering to the same good hygienic practices that are recommended for protection from another virus — the flu.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, “person-to-person spread [of coronaviruses] is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread.”

On the global front, UC Davis today (Jan. 31) designated China a “very high threat” travel destination for university affiliates.

Also today, the number of confirmed cases in California grew to three with the announcement by Santa Clara County’s Public Health Department that the CDC had confirmed a county resident — a man — had tested positive for the novel — or new — coronavirus. The other cases in the state are in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

UC Davis and UC Davis Health remained vigilant, with officials reporting earlier this week that the university had implemented measures to help protect our community should a patient be identified in the future.

The university continues to operate normally. Officials said there are currently no plans to cancel classes, and the university will not plan to do so unless directed by the Yolo County Health Department.

More about the new coronavirus, from the CDC.

Look for UC Davis updates at Dateline UC Davis.

Travel advisory

With today’s update from Global Affairs, all university affiliates’ China travel plans are subject to review by the Travel Advisory Committee. A handful of faculty members had previously registered their plans to travel to China — and Global Affairs confirmed with those faculty members that all of them had canceled their plans.

Global Affairs previously posted an advisory to university affiliates to avoid all travel to China, based on guidance from the Department of State and the CDC.

Look for updated advisories on Global Affairs’ novel-coronavirus travel announcement page. It includes information on the procedures involved in seeking permission to travel to China.

Global Affairs also reported that UC Davis has one study abroad program in China, scheduled to begin in late June. Zachary Frieders, interim executive director of the Global Learning Hub, said the university will evaluate the situation before enrollment closes in April, so that if the program is canceled, students have time to enroll in other programs.

The UC Education Abroad Program has canceled all winter and spring programs in China, affecting three UC Davis students; their program had not yet started.

The best defense

To help protect against flu virus — and by extension, coronavirus — Student Affairs and UC Davis Health advice includes: wash your hands often with soap and water; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth; and try to avoid close contact with sick people. Preventive steps, from the CDC.

UC Davis officials also are telling people: It is not too late to get a flu shot for added protection.

Cindy Schorzman, medical director of Student Health and Counseling Services, said: “Any member of our community suspecting they have influenza or the coronavirus should stay home.”

Students should call the Student Health and Wellness Center, 530-752-2349, or their primary care provider before going in. “This will allow us to provide you with information on your illness, and to plan for your visit to the clinic, if needed,” Schorzman said in a coronavirus update posted Jan. 28.

Faculty and staff should contact their primary care providers for instructions.

Schorzman’s update also includes an FAQ. It includes this note: Healthy students should not stay home for fear of catching an infection in class.

Human-to-human transmission

Marsh's memo today to staff at UC Davis Health came one day after the CDC confirmed the first instance of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus in the United States, in Chicago. The case, Marsh said, was “not surprising, given what we know about the disease.”

MORE FROM UC DAVIS HEALTH

• In a Jan. 24 news release and video, “What U.S. Residents Should Know,” Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases, addresses such questions as, “Should I wear a mask?” and “What should I do if I have cold symptoms?”
• In a Jan. 22 news release and video, “What You Should Know” (below), Blumberg addresses such questions as, “Will the flu shot make a difference” and “How can I avoid Wuhan coronavirus?”

He said the case involved people in close contact with each other: a husband and wife. The wife recently returned from Wuhan. Not surprisingly, her husband contracted the disease from her.

“That type of transmission is exactly what we would expect with any coronavirus: When someone who is sick breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes in the vicinity of others, their respiratory droplets can carry the virus toward other people, or onto surfaces such as doorknobs and tables,” Marsh said.

“It’s all the more reason to practice good hand hygiene and flu prevention techniques. Washing our hands and covering our coughs cannot be done often enough, especially during flu season.”

Marsh said UC Davis Health is well prepared for coronavirus and “determined to maintain a safe workplace and quality care environment for everyone.”

He told employees a special coronavirus planning group is meeting twice a week, tasked with ensuring care teams and clinics have all the resources they need.

“I remain hopeful that the coronavirus here in the U.S. will not become anything like it has overseas,” he told staff. “Your training and professionalism mean that our community and region can be assured that UC Davis Health is prepared for everything.”

This press release was produced by the University of California, Davis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.