Yale Virtual Town Hall to Address the Latest on Pandemic

March 17, 2020

A panel of seven experts from Yale and the City of New Haven, including Dean Ann Kurth, will meet in a virtual town hall Wednesday (March 18) to inform the public and policymakers on the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic.

The wide-ranging discussion will address and answer questions on the following issues:

  • Disease symptoms
  • Worst-case scenarios
  • Protecting yourself and your family
  • Coping with changing routines
  • Legal rights
  • Yale’s response
  • New Haven’s response

To prevent further spread of the disease, each of the panelists will link into the town hall from their homes and respond to questions submitted by the public. Send your questions to the experts at  covidquestionsyale@gmail.com by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The recording will be posted and available for viewing on Thursday, March 19.

Topics and panelists include:

1. What is coronavirus? Is it “like” the flu? What are its symptoms, its prognosis for different risk groups? Ellen Foxman, Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine

2. What are the possible scenarios that could play out over the next few weeks and months? How bad might it get? Sten Vermund, Dean and Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health, Yale School of Public Health

3. What can we do to protect ourselves, our families, our communities? Ann Kurth, Dean and Linda Lorimer Professor, Yale School of Nursing

4. How can we cope with the changes in our lives we’re being asked to make? Rajita Sinha, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

5. What can we do to ensure our rights our being respected? Amy Kapczynski, Professor, Yale School of Law

6. What is Yale doing?Paul Genecin, Chief Executive Officer, Yale Health

7. What is New Haven doing? Mehul Dalal, Community Services Director, City of New Haven

This is the second town hall on coronavirus, the first was held on February 6, moderated by Saad Omer, director, Yale Institute of Global Health. A video recording can be viewed here.


Update: March 19, 2020

View the full recorded town hall below.