From The Register-Herald of Beckley:
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) has created a detailed plan to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 as first- and second-year students begin the new school year and employees return to campus during Phase 3 of the school’s reopen plan.
Students were asked to return to the Lewisburg community on July 13 in order to isolate before orientation begins. Students are participating in drive-through Covid-19 testing stations this week where they will also receive personal protective equipment, including an N95 mask, a cloth mask that was hand-sewn by WVSOM staff and a face shield to be used in anatomy lab. First-year students will also drive through a station to receive their school-issued computers.
“If students follow the procedures we have put in place — that is, to self-isolate in their apartments in Lewisburg a week before we test them and that test comes back negative — we are confident that we likely don’t have any cases among our students and that risk will be minimal,” said Roy Russ, Ph.D., WVSOM’s associate dean for preclinical education. “Besides trying to protect members of our community, we also have volunteer retired faculty who are more vulnerable and employees who are more susceptible to the virus. We want to protect everybody.” …