Response of Eastern Shore Colleges and Universities to the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2021

George Shivers • February 2, 2021

As with businesses, schools and citizens generally, the covid-19 pandemic has confronted the Shore’s institutions of higher education with difficult decisions beginning last year and continuing into the current semester. The following are the policies of each of the colleges and universities on the Eastern Shore.

Cecil College, Cecil County

All classes are virtual during January. The college plans to begin in-person classes on February 1, but will continue to monitor the covid situation. Faculty and staff will provide updates in Blackboard, and via email and text messages. All winter sports have been cancelled.

Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, Queen Anne’s County

Classes at Chesapeake College are currently virtual, with the exception of a few courses such as truck driving and healthcare. The college hopes to begin in-person classes at mid-term, but will be carefully monitoring covid-19 in the meantime.

Salisbury University, Wicomico County

Salisbury University is unique among the Shore’s colleges in that it has been conducting classes in person since the beginning of the fall semester. All students, faculty and staff are required to have a negative result on a covid test administered by the university on file every 30 days. Through a partnership with the University of Maryland Baltimore, test results are usually available in 30-48 hours. Those who test negative receive an automated email. The few who test positive receive a call from Campus Health, a new office established last fall specifically to handle aspects of the covid-19 response. Once notified of a positive test result, students may choose to go home to self-isolate or relocate to Dogwood Village, a one-story student housing complex used as isolation and quarantine housing for covid-19 patients. Three daily meals are delivered there each day and there are also regular physical and mental health check-ins from Campus Health, as well as visits three times a week from Student Health Services.

Employees who test positive receive similar notifications with instructions to remain off campus for at least two weeks until being cleared by Campus Health to return. Those who are able may choose to telework.

SU also conducts its own contact tracing in coordination with the Wicomico County Health Dept.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Somerset County

UMES is following a hybrid model in which some classes are in person and some fully online. The university alerts students via class codes of what to look for when they are selecting classes. It is possible to choose only classes that are offered remotely. The spring semester began on January 25 and will end on May 7 with final exams between May 10 and May 13. The university shortened spring break, but encouraged students to stay on campus and not travel (March 15-17).

The university has regular covid-19 testing for all faculty, staff, and students who spend any physical time on the campus. A student who has a positive result is contacted immediately and moved to quarantine housing, where all meals are delivered to them and where mental and physical health checks are done several times each day. If a commuter student receives a positive result, he or she is asked to remain at home for a 14-day period. The same applies for faculty and staff members. The university also contact-traces any positive cases and isolates persons who came in close contact with the positive person. Close contact is defined as within six feet with no mask for more than fifteen minutes, per CDC guidelines. Additionally, any area where that person spent time is deep cleaned with CDC approved chemicals to kill the virus.

My contact at UMES reported that the university had a positivity rate lower than Maryland and lower than Somerset County last semester. They did not have to move to all virtual classes at any time during the semester. Students were housed at one person per bedroom, with no extra charge for single rooms. They were able to hold small, socially (physically) distant events for students successfully by using larger spaces or outdoor areas and all such events were ticketed to keep track of those who attended.

Washington College, Chestertown, Kent County

Students began returning to campus on January 19 with 400 students planning to be on campus, 238 in off-campus housing and 400 staying at home. The return was staggered over two weeks. All classes will be presented virtually, and the campus is currently closed except for deliveries. There are strict guidelines in place to prevent large student gatherings both on and off campus. The students will use the dining hall and may exercise outside, but campus activities will be limited.

Students will be tested every two weeks with results returned from the University of Maryland in 24-48 hours. If an on-campus student tests positive, quarantine spaces are available on campus. Off-campus students may quarantine at their residence.

Wor-Wic Community College, Salisbury, Wicomico County

Start of classes was delayed from January 15 to January 22, and spring break has been eliminated. There are no in-person classes on campus until January 29, the only exception being the Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy. Non-credit classes are being held remotely and start dates delayed.

A native of Wicomico County, George Shivers holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland and taught in the Foreign Language Dept. of Washington College for 38 years before retiring in 2007. He is also very interested in the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, African American history in particular.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Mail

Common Sense for the Eastern Shore

Six Reasons Why the House Budget Bill Will Hurt Rural America

By Michael Chameides, Barn Raiser • May 21, 2025

Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.

Who Will SNAP Cuts Affect in Maryland? On the Eastern Shore?

By Catlin Nchako, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities • May 21, 2025

The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.

Not Law Yet

By Jan Plotczyk • May 21, 2025

Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:

Eastern Shore Delegation: 2025 “Highlights”

By Jared Schablein, Shore Progress • May 13, 2025

Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.

Democrats reach historic goal: A full slate in Virginia House races

By Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury • May 12, 2025

For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.

2025 General Assembly Report: Results for Working Families on the Eastern Shore

By Jared Schablein, Shore Progress • April 22, 2025

The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.