Following provincial guidelines for containing COVID-19, McGill has cancelled classes, exams, and all on-campus events that will attract over 250 participants tomorrow, Friday, March 13. In an email to the student body, Deputy Provost Fabrice Labeau wrote that the administration is taking this measure “to evaluate how today’s coronavirus (COVID-19) announcement from the Quebec government will impact campus operations and academic activities.”
Premier François Legault recently recommended the cancellation of public gatherings with more than 250 people to prevent transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which is highly infectious even when symptoms may not be visible. In addition, the provincial government has placed a mandatory quarantine period of 14 days for all public and private employees in the healthcare and education sectors.
With assurances that “the pandemic is under control in Quebec” and that the 13 confirmed cases in the province had been contained, Legault said, “Our goal is to completely halt the progression of the virus.”
The federal government has already pledged $1 billion to fight the pandemic’s spread, warning that 30-70% of Canadians, or up to 26 million people, could eventually become infected with COVID-19.
This is a developing news story and will be updated accordingly.
