Coronavirus: Hoboken Tells Stevens Institute To Let Students Stay

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in an email to Hoboken residents on Friday morning that he has asked the Stevens Institute of Technology not to demand that students leave campus in the wake of the spread of the new coronavirus. Many colleges have told students to return home, but Bhalla said that the engineering university's actions are contrary to a policy of self-isolation.

Bhalla said, in the same letter, that he may close city parks completely if people don't practice "social distancing" and keep six feet away from others, to slow the spread of the virus and avoid overwhelming medical facilities.

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Bhalla had said the evening before that Hoboken has 13 confirmed cases of coronavirus. A testing center is set to come to the city on Saturday (click this link for updates).

As of Thursday, ten people had died from the virus in New Jersey, including four in one family based in Freehold. A total of 742 residents were reported as having the virus.

Bhalla said that Stevens had asked students to leave by a week from now.

Three percent of the undergraduates at the school, and 62 percent of the graduate students, are international students.

Here is Bhalla's letter:

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I want to once again strongly urge all Hoboken residents to practice strict social distancing - which means remaining at a distance of six feet apart - in Hoboken parks and all public locations today, especially given the anticipated mild weather. Unfortunately, if this cannot occur and clusters of people are gathering without practicing social distancing, we will be left with no choice but to close the parks immediately to protect the public from the further spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Residents must consider the very real risk of exposure to COVID-19 in public locations, especially parks. An interaction today that spreads COVID-19 which will not be detected for another week to two weeks, and by then containment efforts will be too late. I thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding.

Hoboken position on Stevens Institute of Technology move-out policy

Yesterday, I spoke with staff from Stevens, after hearing directly from multiple students, parents of students, and residents who were very concerned with a notice from Stevens, telling students to move out of the Stevens campus, and off campus living (within residential Hoboken) by March 27. Students, parents and residents were concerned that the directive was contrary to the Hoboken self-isolation policy. I share those very substantial concerns and asked Stevens to consider alternative arrangements.

The administrators from Stevens informed me that they would give very real consideration to any student (or parent) who would like to stay in their housing or for those already at home, to stay at home without having to come back, in order to self-isolate given COVID-19. While Hoboken cannot lawfully rescind certain aspects of the Stevens order, I strongly suggest those students and parents make that direct request to delay moving out if they so wish, due to COVID-19 concerns. I urge Stevens in the strongest terms to consider the very legitimate health concerns of those students who wish to remain in self isolation, at home or on campus, and not be forced to move out at this time.

</blockquote>

Experts say that the new coronavirus (COVID-19), because it's new, is more lethal and much harder to treat than the flu.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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