TOMSK, Mar 26 – RIA Tomsk. Students and teachers of Tomsk State University (TSU), who have already switched to distance learning, will not study and work together with the whole country from March 28 to April 5, a representative of the university’s press service told RIA Tomsk on Thursday.
Earlier it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, March 25, announced non-working the next week from March 28 to April 5 for all residents of the country due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus infection. At the same time, all life support structures will work.
“To make a non-working week in an epidemic - is the right decision. Universities have begun to switch to distance learning. This is a big and difficult process. So, there are 4 900 courses at TSU in the second semester, 4 500 of which were introduced in distance learning. We still need to put into practice 400 courses, finalize the existing ones", - a representative of the university’s press service told RIA Tomsk with reference to the rector of TSU Eduard Galazhinsky.
The rector emphasized that the extra weekend will provide an opportunity, getting rid of the administrative burden, to make a full transition to online education. The weekend will allow not only teachers, but also students to get together: to consolidate and organize the knowledge gained, to enter the zone of distance comfort.
© предоставила пресс-служба ТГУ
Earlier it was also reported that distance learning at all universities in Tomsk was extended to April 30 due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus infection, such a decision was made by university leaders on Wednesday, March 25, at a council of rectors of Tomsk universities.
Tomsk region in the context of the coronavirus pandemic
It was also previously reported that the authorities of the region are preparing reserves in order to accept a large number of patients with COVID-19 and suspicion of it if necessary: up to a thousand beds can be deployed additionally, hospitals can be redesigned as infectious ones if necessary.
An observational center has been established to isolate citizens suspected of coronavirus infection; Tomsk citizens who have arrived from countries affected by the virus and who do not want to put their loved ones at risk are sent to it.
As of March 25, in Tomsk, there are 21 people in the infectious diseases ward of hospital No. 3: in one patient, the diagnosis of coronavirus was confirmed on March 18, in 17 patients the PCR test was negative, in three patients the tests were sent for research. Seven people remain at Seversk hospital, all have negative results of tests for the presence of coronavirus infection.
Mass events, including entertainment and sports, are temporarily prohibited in the region, all universities have been transferred to distance learning, free attendance has been introduced in schools, and maximum protection measures have been introduced at the Tomsk airport.
According to the official website of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), as of March 25, 658 cases of coronavirus infection were registered in Russia, 29 people recovered, two of them are Chinese citizens, one Italian citizen. According to the Worldometers website, as of the morning of March 25, the number of COVID-19 cases in the world exceeded 422 thousand people, almost 109 thousand recovered, and about 18.9 thousand died.