Universities and colleges in Ireland are to close from tomorrow until March 29th, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced.
Colleges will close alongside schools and cultural institutions, as the country battles to contain the spread of the virus.
Speaking from Washington DC, Varadkar said the virus “will continue to spread but it can be slowed. Its impact can be reduced”.
The number of confirmed cases in Ireland now stands at 61. Some 43 people have contracted the virus in the Republic, and 18 in Northern Ireland.
Last night, Trinity confirmed that a second student had contracted the virus. The student is in the health sciences faculty and was based in St James’s Hospital.
The College has taken a number of steps to stop the spread, including cancelling physical lectures, though it has received criticism on social media for not being more proactive.
While the College initially told students that tutorials, seminars and laboratory sessions would continue as normal, a number of schools have suspended these as well.
On Tuesday, Provost Patrick Prendergast also announced that the Book of Kells, Science Gallery and Douglas Hyde would close as a result of the virus.
Less than 24 hours earlier, 40 academic staff had written to Prendergast urging him to “take a lead” and close Trinity “for all bar essential lab-based teaching”, in a letter obtained by The University Times.
“The country faces a crisis described yesterday by Professor Sam McConkey as akin to the 1916 Spanish flu combined with the Wall Street Crash plus the Civil War. We are most concerned in the first instance with the health issue”, the signatories wrote.
Yesterday, this newspaper reported that at least 16 societies had cancelled or suspended events as a result of the spread of the coronavirus.
The College Health Service has suspended walk-in appointments, and the library will be operating at reduced capacity in the coming weeks to implement “social distancing”.
Hand sanitisers are in place in various locations across the College.
