Brian Schmidt calculates the virus risks

Society just can’t shut-down to a vaccine comes along,” says ANU VC

“We really will run out of toilet paper by then, and everything else. The objective is to find a balance between maintaining university activities and where COVID-19 spread is strongly limited.”

ANU says “with strong public measures,” (think Singapore, Taiwan Hong Kong), “it is possible to continue with some form of business as usual while containing the spread of the virus.”

Much of our future is in our hands, the better we do at containing the disease by our actions the less draconian measure we will need to take,” he told the university community yesterday.

However, Professor Schmidt added, “we may have to move fully on-line in the not-too-distant-future, I am afraid” and that while there is no infection on campus yet, “it is bound to happen soon.”

And he told the community not to go to work if sick. “No matter what your circumstances, I promise you, you will not be penalised for doing the right thing.”

For teaching, Professor Schmidt says, ““this week we are going to start to push for fully on-line delivery of many of our large classes and look at those smaller classes and tutorials, where social distancing is hard. That way we can find appropriate solutions.”