Confusion, fear at Fresno City College after student’s possible coronavirus exposure

As a student veteran was visiting Fresno City College on Monday, he got a message telling him he had been exposed to a novel coronavirus patient during the weekend, and he should immediately go for testing.

That’s when Fresno City College locked down the Veterans Resource Center and the nearby Disabled Students Programs and Services building, Fresno City College President Carole Goldsmith said Tuesday in an interview with The Bee.

She said that was just the beginning of “cascading events” that sent the campus into a panic and resulted in its shut down on Monday.

As worried staff sheltered in the two buildings and administration got on the phone with the public health department for guidance, an unrelated city-wide power outage struck the campus, Goldsmith said, leaving already-panicked workers wondering what was going on.

Tweets went out, she said, some with conflicting information.

The good news was that the power returned shortly after, but the bad news was that it triggered a fire alarm on campus, causing even more chaos.

“Imagine this,” Goldsmith said. “People are locked in, there are police out there. People are starting to get scared, then the power goes out. Five minutes into the power outage, the fire alarm went off.”

Goldsmith said amid the fire alarm, faculty members decided to move everyone off campus and close to the public.

Waiting for the test results

Now as administration waits for the results of the student’s COVID-19 test, about a dozen people from the two buildings he passed through are self-quarantining in their home for two weeks.

She’s talked by phone to almost all of those quarantined and said they are in good spirits and some are working from home.

“Tests are coming back slower than we want,” she said, “but we want to stress that he didn’t go to any classes.”

She isn’t sure when test results will be ready.

The student, said to be a member of the U.S. military, traveled out of the Valley for training when he was exposed.

Goldsmith said her incident command team has been meeting since March 4 and have been planning for every situation.

Fresno State announced it would be canceling commencement ceremonies, and although Goldsmith said State Center Community College District has not made an official announcement, it could happen for her campus as well.

“It’s quite possible that we will have to postpone or have some type of virtual commencement,” she said.

Similar to Fresno State, all courses are being moved online, including physical education and courses with laboratories, Goldsmith said.

The Ram Pantry will open with limited hours and Goldsmith is hoping staff can distribute food and supplies drive-thru style, as many school districts are doing with school lunches.

The registered nursing and Allied Health programs were suspended Monday amid the shutdown. She said she expects the programs to start again, but only for those who want to continue.

She said a lot of the students and faculty have asked to continue clinical training despite the risks that they, better than anyone else, are aware of.

Administrators are working with the Board of Registered Nursing to make modifications in hospitals to take on training students. Goldsmith said some hospitals have turned students down due to COVID-19 fears.

Goldsmith said if hospital staff become infected, students may be the best line of defense.

Beyond the spring semester

Since the spring semester is usually when students register for summer and fall classes, or apply for transfer or admission, it could complicate students’ plans.

Goldsmith noted that some services will remain open, but the situation is constantly changing. Since local high schools are also closed, it’s difficult to plan for fall admissions.

“We’re pushing our registration date back three weeks and that could change if we get more direction,” she said. “We know that most of our classes will be offered online.”

She said what happens now will likely cause a ripple effect.

“It’s a logical progression of events that will lead one to believe there will be impact in summer and impact in the fall.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 4:56 PM.