Recent developments in the severity of COVID-19 necessitate the immediate suspension of all in-person instruction, athletic events, and related activities at Cal Poly.

Cal Poly administration has a moral obligation to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, which was categorized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11th. Earlier today, Mustang News reported that three students were asked to preventatively self quarantine for potential exposure to the disease. Cal Poly has also decided to hold athletic games despite NCAA recommendations to close all events to the public.

Cal Poly should join Stanford, USC, the entire UC system, and a collection of over 100 other higher education institutions and transition instruction online, as well as cancel events that could lead to the spread of COVID-19.

This is out of concern for our community; over 20% of San Luis Obispo residents are over the age of 60—the demographic most at risk of severe illness. San Luis Obispo also has immunocompromised and other at-risk residents who will suffer from delayed action. If that wasn't enough, 26% of Cal Poly students are from the Bay Area and 21% are from the Los Angeles area, emerging hotspots for COVID-19. It is naive to think that COVID-19 has not spread among the community at this point, and the administration's response thus far has been inadequate.

Cal Poly administration has the ability to take meaningful action towards the prevention of a COVID19 outbreak in San Luis Obispo. Students, Faculty, Staff, and San Luis Obispo Community members urge the administration to reconsider their response to these events.