COVID-19 has already made landfall in Nashville, Tennessee. As UTK students in the state's 3rd most populous city, it is time to act to ensure the safety and well being of our community's most vulnerable. While not particularly fatal to young adults, COVID-19 has been proven to be particularly dangerous in patients who  have compromised immune systems, such as the elderly and those with autoimmune diseases. The National Institute of Health reports that up to 8% of Americans suffer from such autoimmune diseases. As Tennessee's largest university with 33,000 students, our campus is vulnerable to rapid disease spread. Thousands of students use Ped Walkway daily, and one cough in such an area could be inhaled by many students (the CDC asserts that COVID-19 can be inhaled from a cough or sneeze at a distance of up to 6 feet). Door knobs in buildings like HSS, Hodges Library, Haslam, and the Student Union are used by thousands daily. It seems unlikely that the university can properly disinfect high traffic surfaces such as these while class continues to be in session. With such high potential for disease spread, it is vital that classes are suspended to protect vulnerable students, staff, and the community at large. We call on Chancellor Donde Plowman and the administration of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to protect our community and cancel class until the university can demonstrate that our campus is safe from COVID-19. The vulnerable deserve no less.

The following is an excerpt from "WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 5 March 2020" regarding the seriousness of the outbreak:

"This is not a drill.

This is not the time to give up.

This is not a time for excuses.

This is a time for pulling out all the stops.

Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans."