Dear colleague,
The MBL is carefully monitoring the ongoing coronavirus outbreak situation. Our authoritative sources of information (likely similar to your home institution’s) are the CDC and the state health department, in our case the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH). In addition because of our affiliation with the University of Chicago, we are able to take advantage of their resources and expertise. We are also extending our existing emergency response plans to cover the specific ongoing situation. While we expect travel cancellations of individuals coming from severely affected overseas locations, there are no travel restrictions within the US at this time and no broad US-wide directives or guidance regarding cancelling gatherings (i.e. in schools, conferences, athletic events etc.) or recommendations regarding social distancing. The MA DPH assesses that the risk to the public from COVID-19 remains low in the state. As a result, the MBL is planning to hold all of its scheduled programs etc. at this time. This is, of course, subject to change depending on how things evolve but these are our current plans. We will continue to update you on a regular basis.
Dana Mock-Muñoz de Luna
Senior Administrator, Division of Research