BREAKING NEWS: Coronavirus (COVID-19)-related closings, cancellations in La Jolla

La Jolla Light is passing along (below) the notices it received (updated 1 p.m. Thursday, March 12) regarding closings and postponements of community events and activities.

The list is by no means comprehensive nor complete. Updates will be added as they become known.

1) La Jolla Music Society, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Opera and San Diego Symphony

Joint statement issued: “In light of the guidance issued last night (Wednesday, March 11) regarding COVID-19 by Governor Newsom and the California Department of Public Health, La Jolla Music Society, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Opera and San Diego Symphony will cancel and/or postpone performances through the end of March 2020, effective immediately. We are currently in the process of reaching out to our patrons about their ticketing options, and a statement from each respective organization will be distributed later this afternoon.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely for performances beyond March 31. While we are deeply saddened to take this action, we feel it is imperative in the effort to safeguard the health and well being of our patrons, performers, staff and volunteers.”

1b) The Old Globe has announced that it will suspend public performances effective immediately, and, per the guidelines, at least through the end of March. Two productions now in rehearsal, Little Women and Faceless, will be postponed until further notice.

2) La Jolla Town Council: Canceled its Community Choice Energy forum March 12 at the Rec Center with presentation by Matthew Valisakis of the Climate Action Campaign, updating residents and businesses about Community Choice Energy in San Diego and the City’s Franchise Agreement with SDG&E.

3) CANCELLED: CIF State Basketball Championships
3b) CANCELLED: La Jolla High School College Information Presentation scheduled for March 12 will be postponed due to rain and the potential for low attendance.Rescheduling for a later date. In the meantime, the school will post information on its website under “counseling resources” within the next few days.

4) CANCELLED: La Jolla Historical Society’s Landmark Group reception, March 15

5) San Diego Unified School District

All schools in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) are following district policy for COVID-19. According to these guidelines, students and staff members should stay home:

• if they have respiratory symptoms, and temperature over 100 degrees, until they have no fever for 24 hours without medication;

• if they have been to any part of China within the past two weeks and have signs of a respiratory illness (fever AND cough or shortness of breath);

• if they have a history of travel to the Hubei Province of China within the past 14 days and exhibit signs of a respiratory illness;

• if they have been in contact with a person with a laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 within the past two weeks and exhibit a sign of a respiratory illness (fever OR cough OR shortness of breath);

• if they have been to China, Iran, South Korea or Italy within the past 14 days and present with fever and symptoms of either cough or shortness of breath.
For updated information, visit sdunified.org

6) UC San Diego goes all-online

In an unprecedented move, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla will shift all the school’s lecture courses online and largely close the campus to the public to fight the coronavirus. All university athletic events will also be “fan-less” without spectators into late May to help protect players and the public.

7) Scripps restricts hospital visitors

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, as well as the four other Scripps Health hospitals, have implemented the following visitor restrictions to safeguard against the possible spread COVID-19.

• Visitors with fever or respiratory symptoms will not be allowed inside Scripps hospitals.

• Children age 14 and younger will not be allowed in the hospital unless they are patients receiving treatment or have appointments.

“We are taking these additional measures out of an abundance of caution in an effort to limit the risk of infection in our hospitals,” said Scripps chief medical officer Ghazala Sharieff. “We ask that visitors adhere to these restrictions so that we can maintain the safest possible environment for everyone.”

Additionally, patients who are concerned that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should call first before coming to a Scripps facility. They should not just walk in and should not use the Scripps online scheduling system for appointments.

8) Birch Aquarium closes to public beginning March 12. The temporary closure is an effort to help stop the communal spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition to closing to the public, Birch Aquarium is also canceling all special events, school visits, and outreach activities. Staff will continue working to ensure the behind-the-scenes research and operations of the aquarium, especially the care of the more than 6,000 animals that call the aquarium home.

The aquarium has created a coronavirus information page, which will be kept up to date with the latest news relating to aquarium operations. All UC San Diego campus-wide updates can be found at coronavirus.ucsd.edu