Blackhawk Continues to Monitor/Respond to COVID-19

A lot has been changing over the last 48-hours and we are truly grateful for the response and cooperation of all of our employees and students. We praise the efforts of all Blackhawk faculty and staff whose determination to keep you, our students, at the center during this difficult time is impressive.

Yesterday, Gov. Evers declared a public health emergency in response to new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19). With these new cases, there needs to be extensive contact tracing to contain, and slow, the spread of COVID-19.

Therefore, our work continues at Blackhawk to do our part to help contain the spread of COVID-19. Classes are still suspended for Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17 so that faculty can transition as much coursework online as possible beginning Wednesday, March 18. Labs that cannot move online are being restructured to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

We understand that there are new developments daily and will continue to monitor the situation closely. We will update all of you if there are any additional changes to operations. The College will remain open and practice social distancing to help slow the spread of the virus.

With that said, we strongly urge all students and employees to do the following:

• Continue to monitor your Blackhawk email and Blackboard for updates and information regarding College operations and coursework.
• If you have traveled to a high-risk area or have been in contact with someone who has traveled to a high-risk area, you should self-quarantine for 14 days.
•  Monitor your temperature. If you have a fever of 100.4 (per CDC) or you are showing other symptoms, stay home. According to the CDC, symptoms may include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
• Don’t Deny, Sanitize! Wipes and hand sanitizer are being provided at all campus locations. Wipe down work areas before and after use. When you come into a room…sanitize. When you leave a room…sanitize.
• Social distancing guidelines need to be followed. Do not congregate and leave at least six feet between you and others.
• Take steps to protect yourself. Clean your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Cover coughs and sneezes.

Our food service team is also putting some precautionary measures into place.

• Starbucks will remain open; the Courtyard Grill will be closed.
• There will be no self-service food; such as soup or salad.

We understand that there is a lot of information out there on the situation. We continue to monitor the situation closely in cooperation with WTCS, the State of Wisconsin, local public health departments, and the CDC. We are in containment mode and will continue to do our part to help minimize and slow the spread of COVID-19.

We have set up a webpage from which we can share updates with the community at Blackhawk.edu/Coronavirus. As we share information with employees and students, we will also share information on that page. In addition, both the CDC and the World Health Organization are great resources on the pandemic.

Thank you all for your cooperation and patience during this challenging time. Please take extra precautions during this time to keep you and your family healthy.  We understand that this is a lot of information to take in and process. Please reach out if you have any questions.