Dear Course Directors,
MBL Director Nipam Patel and I thought it was important to communicate with you all on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak situation. Please be aware that we are carefully monitoring the situation and our authoritative sources of information (likely similar to your home institutions) 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 courses etc. at this time. This is, of course, subject to change depending on how things evolve but these are our current plans. Also, as you consider course participants you might want to consider adding additional domestic students to the “waitlist” should enrollments fall from our international pool. We will continue to update you on a regular basis.
Linda E. Hyman, Ph.D.
Burroughs Wellcome Director of Education