Out of an abundance of caution for public health and to mitigate any potential spread of COVID-19, or the coronavirus, Bucks County Community College is suspending all events from Friday, March 13, at noon, through Sunday, March 22, and temporarily closing all locations from March 14-22 to allow for deep cleaning.
“Although no COVID-19 suspected cases have been connected to the college, we decided to take this opportunity to allow our custodial staff to completely disinfect all offices, classrooms and facilities,” said Stephanie Shanblatt, Ph.D., college president. “The health and well-being of our community is of utmost importance to the college, and so we wanted to take a proactive role to try to mitigate the potential spread of this unprecedented virus.”
The college will be closing all campuses – the Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks in Bristol, the Newtown Campus, the Upper Bucks Campus in Perkasie, and the Public Safety Training Centers in Doylestown and Croydon – from Saturday, March 14 through Sunday, March 22.
The closure overlaps the March 16-22 spring break for credit students. All noncredit continuing education classes scheduled during this time are canceled or postponed.
Ticket holders for events in the Zlock Performing Arts Center, including the Wordsmiths Reading Series with Carole Maso and Cheryl Baldi, set for Friday, March 13, will be contacted with more information. “Celtic Crushing: Larry Kirwan’s St. Patrick’s Day Concert” on Saturday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m., has been canceled.
In addition, all college-related conference trips and travel for students and staff are suspended until March 31.
Staff will be working remotely from home during this time. All told, the college consists of more than 900,000 square feet of building space at all five locations. Custodial staff will be wiping down and disinfecting all hard surfaces, including desks, chairs, shelves, doorknobs, and railings during the temporary closure, with a goal to reopen Monday, March 23.
Any updates will be posted on the college’s website page dedicated to COVID-19 at bucks.edu/coronavirus
