Aug 20, 2020
LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 20, 2020) – As the University of Kentucky prepares for the start of the fall 2020 semester, efforts are underway to provide COVID-19 testing for all students planning a physical return to campus. Between August 3rd and August 22nd, testing for all 30,000 students – undergraduate, graduate and professional will be available at no cost to students at five sites on campus. The idea is to create a baseline for university officials as plans are implemented for ongoing daily screening, contact tracing and other health measures.
In addition, students moving into residence halls on campus are being provided ‘health kits’, containing digital thermometers, sanitizers, masks and other items, in an effort to promote healthy behavior to reduce transmission of the virus and flatten the infection curve. This behavior includes washing hands, sanitizing common surfaces, and maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from others…otherwise known as the more familiar term “social distancing”.
It’s that concept of distancing that is the focus of this episode of Behind the Blue. While distancing from each other is part of the desired behavior our health officials have been urging in order to combat this pandemic, humans have basic needs for emotional and social connection, and members of our society are being asked to do what we aren’t always well-equipped to do in the face of a crisis – nothing. On this week’s podcast, Tony Love, an assistant professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, and we’ll be talking about the importance of staying socially connected – even during times when we cannot be physically together.
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