COVID-19/Wuhan Flu (Novel Coronavirus)

[Christopher K.]

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus is all the talk of the world (and all the headache of Baton Rouge) on this St. Patrick's Day. Day-to-day living has definitely been altered.

The disease is called coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19. Another name is Wuhan Flu, which continues a tradition of naming infections/outbreaks from their point of origin or their point of first major reporting (such as Spanish Flu, Ebola, West Nile Virus, Omsk Fever and so on).

Louisiana now has over 150 cases. I don't think the adjectives "unconfirmed" and "presumptive" are used anymore; just one local test is now sufficient--no more sending the sample to the CDC for a second test. Apparently, some nurses believe the Mardi Gras celebrations hastened the introduction of the novel coronavirus into the state.

The Highland Road Park Observatory is closed until at least 3 April.

More information:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

[Christopher K.]

The Highland Road Park Observatory is now closed until 13 April. The virus outbreak has altered the timelines of some NASA missions. Of course, skygazing from home is still a hobby available for all of us.

More information:
https://www.lsu.edu/coronavirus/index.php
http://www.brec.org/index.cfm/page/covid19
http://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus/

[Christopher K.]

The Highland Road Park Observatory is drawing up additional guidelines to serve people remotely and encourage skygazing from home. BREC Superintendent Corey Wilson today had a reassuring remote townhall commentary for employees. NASA has formalized a response to the virus outbreak.

More information:
https://www.wafb.com/health/coronavirus/
https://www.wbrz.com/coronavirus
https://www.brproud.com/health/coronavirus/
https://www.wrkf.org/term/coronavirus
https://wjbo.iheart.com/featured/coronavirus/
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge ... ronavirus/
https://www.businessreport.com/coronavirus
https://www.nasa.gov/coronavirus

[Christopher K.]

HRPO is closed through 30 April, and Friday 1 May would have seen no programs anyway as the Friday before International Astronomy Day is used for setup of this huge event. At this time, BREC programs are slated to at least partially reappear on Saturday 2 May.

More information:
http://ebrpl.libguides.com/coronavirus
http://www.sus.edu/page/coronavirus-updates-information
http://www.southeastern.edu/about/safe_campus/covid-19/
http://cityofbakerla.com/wp/coronavirus/
https://www.cityofzachary.org/news-even ... formation/
https://www.centralgov.com/coronavirus-information
https://www.lsureveille.com/coronavirus/
https://www.entergy.com/covid-19/lasmbiz/

[Christopher K.]

Baton Rouge is currently in "Phase One"; HRPO was not included in that list of reopenings. HRPO personnel are making the case that the facility should reopen during Phase Two with pertinent restrictions.

More information:
https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/public ... update.htm
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Coronavirus
https://www.cbsnews.com/feature/coronavirus/
https://dailycaller.com/buzz/coronavirus/
https://www.foxnews.com/category/health ... oronavirus
https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-covid19

[Christopher K.]

HRPO has been in Phase 2 for the past few weeks. These are the facility's Phase 2 Guidelines...
*All people who are not part of the same household must stay at least six feet apart from one another.
*Only thirty (30) patrons are allowed on site at any one time.
*Only twelve (12) patrons are allowed inside the main floor at any one time.
*No patron will be allowed inside the main floor unless he/she agrees to a temperature scan and wears a mask (disposables available).
*Only one (1) patron will be allowed inside each bathroom at any one time.
*There is a strict time limit of thirty minutes for each patron’s visit.

[Christopher K.]

Louisiana will be under Phase 2 Guidelines at least through 28 August...
https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/new ... etail/2621

An extremely bizarre story has emerged from the world of social media. A STEM-field professor mourned after succumbing to the virus (after being forced to teach in person) apparently didn't exist...
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/lo ... 292914001/
https://nypost.com/2020/08/04/scientist ... -covid-19/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/styl ... -hoax.html
The professor supposedly at the center of the manufacturing of the fake academic was herself the main subject of a Science article early last year...
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02 ... -job-peril

[Christopher K.]

As of today, Louisiana has been under Phase Two restrictions for three months.

HRPO is continuing to plan for future events...
*11 September, Neptunian Opposition
*1 October, Mercurian Elongation
*3 October, Spooky Sensation
*13 October, Great Martian Opposition
...among others.

[Christopher K.]

Louisiana is currently in Phase Three. For HRPO, guidelines for serving the public are exactly the same, with two important changes:
1] Total number of patrons allowed on site at one time has increased from thirty to sixty.
2] Kids' programs (camp, Science Academy, STEM Expansion) are returning to in-person status--though the maximum for all will be twelve.

[Christopher K.]

Louisiana has returned to Phase Three...
https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/new ... etail/2987

The Friday Night Lecture Series is still temporarily defunct, being replaced by the Remote Discussion. On Friday 19 March the Remote Discussion will be the second of two medical physics talks. Professor Kenneth ‘Kip’ Matthews has received the Shalek Award. For his first-ever presentation for HRPO, he will delve into the astonishing areas of ionizing/non-ionization radiation and radioisotope imaging. "Nuclear Physics in Medicine" will be on that Friday at 6:30pm.

Remote Log-In Instructions:
http://hrpo.lsu.edu/programs/special.html