At 7:30 P.M. on March 9th, 2020, Shawnee State University sent a text message to all of its students. The message read, “SSU ALERT- Three suspected coronavirus cases are under investigation at SSU. Possible contacts are being quarantined. Visit shawnee.edu/health for updates.”
When this message was sent out, I was sitting in a meeting for the Scioto County Student Leadership Association (SCSLA). I was surrounded by fellow students who all got the message at the same, and the fear in the air was palpable.
One student from Northwest, Chloe McIntire, was so worried about the Coronavirus spreading that she jumped out of her seat and forced everyone at the meeting to apply hand sanitizer. She can be quoted as saying, “I’m never going to Portsmouth again.”
Many students had to leave the meeting to call family members. Very little information was given in the text message, so students were very worried that the situation was dire and classes may be canceled.
I also got to speak with the Student Body President, Ryan Schiesser, to talk about the situation, and clarify the information that he has regarding the situation.
Ryan told me that he had not been made aware of the situation, and he found out the same way as everyone else, through the text message.
Since the text broke, Ryan spoke with people who knew the three suspected victims, and according to him, the measures were mostly precautionary.
The three students had recently left the country then came back. One of them currently has a fever and they are all being tested for the virus.
Given the fact that the suspects have been quarantined, Ryan suspects that classes will continue as normal, and university students should contain their panic to the best of their ability
SSU Coronavirus Alert
