UT closes classes; NHC among those announcing new procedures

University of Tennessee Interim President Randy Boyd — in consultation with chancellors at UT Knoxville, UT Chattanooga, UT Martin and the UT Health Science Center — has announced that all in-person classes beginning March 23 will be temporarily suspended until further notice as a proactive measure in response to the COVID-19 outbreak,” a UT press release stated.

UT-Chattanooga will suspend in-person classes until March 30, while UT Knoxville and UT-Martin will suspend in-person classes until April 3.

Meanwhile, “UT Health Science Center will assess its online options within the next 10 days and communicate directly with its campus community,” the release further stated. “Clinical rotations in hospitals will continue as usual.

“While there are no reports of active confirmed cases involving COVID-19 on any University of Tennessee campus, there are confirmed cases in Tennessee.”

“… Top priority is the health and safety of our students,” Boyd stated. “We are taking this preventative measure with all of our campuses that provide face-to-face instruction out of an abundance of caution.”

NHC changes

• National Healthcare Corporation, which includes NHC Place Farragut, released the following statement:

“Due to COVID-19 spreading across the United States and into parts of Tennessee, we as a company want to do all that we can to keep our high-risk patients and residents healthy.

“… Visiting hours will be limited to Monday (through) Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. All visitors must enter the facility through the main entrance, where we will be completing wellness checks.”

For questions or more information, call 865-777-4000 or visit the NHC website at https://nhccare.com/covid-19-announcement/ for updates on COVID-19.

Check its Facebook page frequently for updates on visiting our facility.