South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford has organized a campus COVID-19 leadership team as a precautionary measure to keep the campus community informed and updated on information to ensure the safety of its students, faculty, and staff. There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 among members of the South Georgia Technical College community.
“South Georgia Technical College has no higher priority than the health and safety of the members of our community,” said President Dr. John Watford. “Prevention is a key strategy with any virus, such as influenza or this coronavirus, so it is important to both protect yourself and take measures against spread to others.”
To date, there have been no cases of COVID-19 reported at the college or in local communities, but there are now reported cases in the state of Georgia. “We recognize that this is a rapidly evolving situation and that the recommendations from the State Task Force and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can change frequently,” added Dr. Watford. “At this time, we have created a flier titled ‘Prevention is the Best Cure!’ that has been distributed to all faculty and staff and posted in public places on the college campus. Students living on-campus have received fliers with information about what they need to know about COVID-19 and what to do if they are ill. Automatic hand sanitizer stations are visible around campus and custodians are cleaning and disinfecting public areas even more robustly.”
South Georgia Technical College and the Technical College System of Georgia are working with Governor Brian P. Kemp and the Governor’s Task Force to assess Georgia’s preparations and procedures for preventing, identifying, and – if needed – addressing cases of COVID-19. TCSG Commissioner Greg Dozier is a member of that task force.
Some recommended preventative strategies from the CDC for employees in the workplace for everyone’s awareness include:
- Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to work until they are of fever, signs of fever and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
- Practice coughing and sneezing etiquette described by the CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/etiquette/coughing_sneezing.html
- Practice proper hand hygiene, https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html
Additional information can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html and https://dph.georgia.gov/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-outbreak.
Members of the South Georgia Technical College COVID-19 leadership team include: President Watford, Vice President of Student Affairs Eulish Kinchens, Vice President of Academic Affairs David Kuipers, Vice President of Operations Karen Werling, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Su Ann Bird, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Vanessa Wall, Dean of Enrollment Management on the Crisp County Center campus Julie Partain, Director of Campus Safety Sammy Stone, and Director of Maintenance Jeff Wiseman.
Eulish Kinchens, SGTC’s COVID-19 Response team coordinator, will be meeting with members of the Sumter County Emergency Management Response team to keep the campus abreast of any updates or changes.
The overall risk of COVID-19 to the general public remains low, although elderly people and individuals with chronic medical conditions may be or have increased risk for COVID-19. The best prevention measures for any respiratory virus are:
• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water
are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
South Georgia Technical College Vice President of Student Affairs Eulish Kinchens, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Vanessa Wall, and Vice President of Academic Affairs David Kuipers are shown above with SGTC Director of Maintenance looking at plans to make sure that the SGTC public areas that have high amounts of human contact are regularly cleaned and disinfected. The preventive task force also discussed preventative measures to alert the campus to best practices for avoiding the COVID-19 virus and other flu-related illnesses.