Just saw the Rice alert that classes will be cancelled for the week of March 9.
https://emergency.rice.edu/news/rice-ale...k-march-9.

The alert also says the following for events:

Events: Through April 30, we are prohibiting all on-campus public events, gatherings and parties with more than 100 people to minimize close contact among large groups of people as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes canceling the president's town hall and Beer Bike events.

I am wondering if sporting activities, such as baseball games and track meets will be canceled.Does anyone have any additional information?

(03-08-2020 05:48 PM)WRC1975 Wrote:  Just saw the Rice alert that classes will be cancelled for the week of March 9.
https://emergency.rice.edu/news/rice-ale...k-march-9.

The alert also says the following for events:

Events: Through April 30, we are prohibiting all on-campus public events, gatherings and parties with more than 100 people to minimize close contact among large groups of people as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes canceling the president's town hall and Beer Bike events.

I am wondering if sporting activities, such as baseball games and track meets will be canceled.Does anyone have any additional information?

"Outdoor varsity, intramural and club athletic events may continue as scheduled."

(03-08-2020 05:48 PM)WRC1975 Wrote:  Just saw the Rice alert that classes will be cancelled for the week of March 9.
https://emergency.rice.edu/news/rice-ale...k-march-9.

The alert also says the following for events:

Events: Through April 30, we are prohibiting all on-campus public events, gatherings and parties with more than 100 people to minimize close contact among large groups of people as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes canceling the president's town hall and Beer Bike events.

I am wondering if sporting activities, such as baseball games and track meets will be canceled.Does anyone have any additional information?

If you follow the link, you will find this statement:
"Outdoor varsity, intramural and club athletic events may continue as scheduled."

I would say athletic events are not affected, at least for now.

Thanks - I missed that statement.

(03-08-2020 05:52 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(03-08-2020 05:48 PM)WRC1975 Wrote:  Just saw the Rice alert that classes will be cancelled for the week of March 9.
https://emergency.rice.edu/news/rice-ale...k-march-9.

The alert also says the following for events:

Events: Through April 30, we are prohibiting all on-campus public events, gatherings and parties with more than 100 people to minimize close contact among large groups of people as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes canceling the president's town hall and Beer Bike events.

I am wondering if sporting activities, such as baseball games and track meets will be canceled.Does anyone have any additional information?

"Outdoor varsity, intramural and club athletic events may continue as scheduled."

Too bad. Aggies coming for batting practice Tuesday night.

The Rice administration is taking a rational approach? Did they make some changes at the top?

(03-08-2020 05:48 PM)WRC1975 Wrote:  Just saw the Rice alert that classes will be cancelled for the week of March 9.
https://emergency.rice.edu/news/rice-ale...k-march-9.

The alert also says the following for events:

Events: Through April 30, we are prohibiting all on-campus public events, gatherings and parties with more than 100 people to minimize close contact among large groups of people as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes canceling the president's town hall and Beer Bike events.

I am wondering if sporting activities, such as baseball games and track meets will be canceled.Does anyone have any additional information?

Outside of the A&M game, are there more than 100 people going to baseball games these days?

Shame about beer bike - Will Rice’s theme was actually pretty good this year: “Southwasted Airlines: Baggos fly free”

I'm fascinated to see how canceling beer bike but not athletic events plays on campus.

(03-08-2020 08:51 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  I'm fascinated to see how canceling beer bike but not athletic events plays on campus.

1. No football (spring game is no big deal at Rice)
2. No men's or women's basketball
3. Small attendance for baseball and tennis
4. The Lopez Track Meet at the end of March looks the most vulnerable.

Idiocy.

Embarrassed to be an alum in this case.

Another reason not to give more to the annual fund than I do.

(03-08-2020 11:17 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  Idiocy.

Embarrassed to be an alum in this case.

Another reason not to give more to the annual fund than I do.

this university and its leadership seems to get more idiotic and has now let its attitude towrds athletics infect its attitude towards the general student body. Watch what happens--se: Rice Sports last 40 years. MAssive, massive overreaction.

relevant link: Steve Hilton: Stop this 'wild, reckless overreaction' to coronavirus

There should be a documentary made about this "media pandemic". Swine flu impacted many more people 10 years ago and there wasn't this reaction to it. No coincidence that this has occurred during an election cycle.

(03-09-2020 05:10 AM)Mademen Wrote:  There should be a documentary made about this "media pandemic". Swine flu impacted many more people 10 years ago and there wasn't this reaction to it. No coincidence that this has occurred during an election cycle.

I guess countries like China, Italy, South Korea, all care deeply enough about our elections to react with such sweeping, but obviously unnecessary and overwrought medical responses.

Rice is reacting with an abundance of caution not because of the election year, but because an employee working in Keck Hall was hospitalized with the COVID-19 virus after being in the office/lab space. They are managing their risk and liability and covering their asses.

Can anyone explain why the response globally to COVID-19 appears to be so different than the referenced swine flu?

(03-09-2020 07:03 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(03-09-2020 05:10 AM)Mademen Wrote:  There should be a documentary made about this "media pandemic". Swine flu impacted many more people 10 years ago and there wasn't this reaction to it. No coincidence that this has occurred during an election cycle.

I guess countries like China, Italy, South Korea, all care deeply enough about our elections to react with such sweeping, but obviously unnecessary and overwrought medical responses.

Rice is reacting with an abundance of caution not because of the election year, but because an employee working in Keck Hall was hospitalized with the COVID-19 virus after being in the office/lab space. They are managing their risk and liability and covering their asses.

Can anyone explain why the response globally to COVID-19 appears to be so different than the referenced swine flu?

I'm no expert, but a few things jump out at me.

1. I believe a vaccine was available pretty quickly, at least in the US. Pretty sure we're not close on COVID-19.

2. Incubation period is longer before symptoms show for COVID, so easier to spread before you know you're sick. These people who are infected, who have no known contact with other carriers, is kinda scary (in the sense that we cannot figure out how it is spreading in many cases). There is no clear picture on how long it can live on surfaces, etc.

3. Just look at this timeline I found on H1N1 milestones. It just didn't spread as rapidly as COVID-19.

https://www.nature.com/news/2009/090429/...9.416.html

And H1N1 still infected close to 1 billion people total worldwide (give or take a bunch - the estimates are really statistical estimates), and killed hundreds of thousands.

It's still early, as you look at the H1N1 timelines. This is probably nowhere close to burning out yet, and we really don't know what else it might increase the risk of.

It's 65 degrees in NY today.. Hopefully warm weather has some "burnout effect" on the virus.

Grasping at straws at this point.

97% of cases in four countries, nearly 90% recovery rate (pre-vaccine) for those who do test positive, and almost 90% of fatalities are from elderly and/or people with existing conditions before testing positive.

Rational read from science/data vs. mainstream media outlets who get paid by eyeballs and thus incented to fan flames during these times. That creates the groupthink at places like Rice that believe they have to/forced to conform.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/c...-to-panic/

(03-09-2020 11:03 AM)owl40 Wrote:  97% of cases in four countries, nearly 90% recovery rate (pre-vaccine) for those who do test positive, and almost 90% of fatalities are from elderly and/or people with existing conditions before testing positive.

Rational read from science/data vs. mainstream media outlets who get paid by eyeballs and thus incented to fan flames during these times. That creates the groupthink at places like Rice that believe they have to/forced to conform.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/c...-to-panic/

I really don't get this consternation about the proactive measures Rice is taking to try and limit interactions between large groups of people, given that Rice has had a confirmed case of COVID-19 on campus.

Rice is largely functioning as normal (classes are only missing a week of timre and research are still ongoing), with the exception of Beer Bike being canceled a month ahead of schedule.

Rice's rationale is fairly smart, as they're giving professors a week to prepare should the situation worsen and the university decide to go to all remote-based learning.

Quote:Out of an abundance of caution and to allow faculty and staff time to prepare for possible remote instruction this semester, in-person classroom instruction and undergrad teaching labs for the week of March 9 are canceled. During the week of March 9-13, faculty can provide material that can be completed remotely and does not require group interaction.

Like some of our peers, Rice is preparing for the possibility of delivering the majority of its classes remotely if that should prove necessary.

Also, the decision to cancel large events is driven by the CDC.

Quote:Through April 30, we are prohibiting all on-campus public events, gatherings and parties with more than 100 people to minimize close contact among large groups of people as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

You can read more about the recommendation from the CDC for universities where there has been a confirmed case here (go to the Guidance for IHE with identified cases of COVID-19 in their community section): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nco...ponse.html

Or is the CDC not putting our real science/data?

(03-09-2020 11:03 AM)owl40 Wrote:  97% of cases in four countries, nearly 90% recovery rate (pre-vaccine) for those who do test positive, and almost 90% of fatalities are from elderly and/or people with existing conditions before testing positive.

Rational read from science/data vs. mainstream media outlets who get paid by eyeballs and thus incented to fan flames during these times. That creates the groupthink at places like Rice that believe they have to/forced to conform.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/c...-to-panic/

While I agree with the main thrust of your comments, let me be George Webb for a moment and state that what really makes this an outstanding post is this:

Quote:… and thus incented....

Kudos for avoiding the backformation "incentivized"! This statement alone means you are not an excellent commentator, and your property never will be burglarized!

Part of the reason the outbreak isn't worse in places like China (and likely Italy and South Korea) is because they started taking these kind of precautionary measures to help contain the spread of Covid-19. Obviously far too late in China's case, but their new cases have really leveled off since they put so many people under lockdown. I'd rather be a little extra cautious on the front end. I am ok if the result is that things fizzle out quickly in the US and Trump campaigns on his amazing Covid-19 response.

(03-08-2020 08:51 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  I'm fascinated to see how canceling beer bike but not athletic events plays on campus.

They are worried about large crowds. Beer bike draws one, athletic events lately don't.