HOLYOKE — While the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, remains a national concern, Holyoke and Greenfield community colleges will continue with classes as scheduled for now, though Holyoke Community College has canceled several events.
HCC Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs Rachel Rubinstein told the Gazette on Tuesday that the college was “operating on the assumption that we will continue face-to-face classes” but continues to monitor the situation and “prepare for online instruction if necessary.”
On Thursday, a spokesman for the college said that in-person classes are still on at the moment.
However, HCC has canceled a string of events in March: its Jazz Night at Theodore’s in Springfield, Jazz Festival, College for a Day, French Film Festival dates, College Career Centers of Western Massachusetts Spring Career Fair and Cannabis Career Fair.
An updated list of event cancelations can be found on the HCC website.
At Greenfield Community College, classes and events are slated to continue as planned as of Thursday afternoon.
“At this point, we are not canceling anything, but it remains a fluid situation that we are monitoring,” GCC President Yves Salomon-Fernandez said Tuesday afternoon.
She said GCC continues “to be concerned about the well-being and health of students, faculty and staff,” and noted that “public health remains a priority.”
According to Salomon-Fernandez, the college has established an emergency planning team to monitor the ongoing situation. The school has created a contingency plan to teach online, should it need to cancel in-person classes on the campus.
“One thing we just did was suspend all domestic and international travel sponsored by the college,” she said.
Additionally, the college is exercising precaution by increasing routine cleaning and disinfection of campus buildings and property. The emergency planning team is also coordinating strategies and holding ongoing conversations around health concerns with state and local agencies. This includes the state Department of Public Health and Department of Higher Education.
“We have the benefit of not being a residential campus, so our risk is lower than other institutions,” Salomon-Fernandez said. “But we will continue to prioritize health concerns and the monitor situation.”
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com. Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.