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Photos: Pictures tell story of COVID-19's impact

Published on Monday, March 23, 2020

Life at the University of Mississippi Medical Center changed dramatically once the COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S., as this photo essay illustrates. While the academic corridor of campus is stilled by the absence of students, the institution's clinical areas are abuzz with preparations for the coronavirus onslaught, and UMMC leaders spend long hours each day in COVID-19 "war rooms" plotting the institution's next response to the virus' threat to Mississippi's health.

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John Carter, left, MICU nurse, helps Jessie Harvey, second from left, assistant professor of medicine, pulmonary, don protective gear while J. D. Chisolm, second from right, MICU nurse, does the same for Kelly Jones, respiratory therapy supervisor, during a pilot training session in the Simulation Center.
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Seating is off limits in the main hospital cafeteria.
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Erica Thomas, left, and Cathy Taylor of Food and Nutrition Services deliver boxed lunches to the Adult and Children's Emergency Room, compliments of the UMMC Group on Women in Medicine and Science.
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Matthew Kowaluk, respiratory protection program administrator, and Tiffanie Robinson, student health information coordinator in Employee Health Service, receive COVID-19 test samples from employees in the drive-thru testing site in Parking Garage B.
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Tyler Gregory, a student in the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences, keeps up with his studies online in the Rowland Medical Library.
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A sign notifies pedestrians of restricted access between UMMC and Methodist Rehabilitation Center.
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Jones, left, Chisolm, center and Harvey run through a COVID-19 treatment exercise in the Simulation Center.
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A Campus Police officer directs a motorist to the proper destination on the Medical Center campus.
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The surge in COVID-19 cases has caused the closure of many non-clinical areas throughout the Medical Center. 
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Hospital hallways are eerily quiet as the Medical Center braces for a surge in COVID-19 patients.
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Alexandra Bensel and Bobby May Jr., third-year medical students, direct traffic to the COVID screenings for employees in Parking Garage B.
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As he enters University Hospital, John Williams, a researcher in the Department of Infectious Diseases, gets a squirt of sanitizer from Ashley Burns.
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Medical Center employees take a moment to visit outside the emergency room while preparing to triage COVID-19 patients.
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Taytum Reid of Carson, left, an incoming physical therapy student, speaks with Bridget Saxton, UMMC Human Resources Service Center specialist, before having her fingerprints scanned. The center has temporarily relocated from inside the old School of Medicine building to an on-campus location on Peachtree Street near Lakeland Drive.
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Theodis Freeman, a Campus Police patrolman, stands guard near the Emergency Department entrance.
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Signage steers pedestrians away from the corridor leading from the women and infants' hospital to Garage B.
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A sign notes the temporary closure of the old School of Medicine building entrance.
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In one of the COVID-19 "war rooms," campus leaders plot their next strategy.
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All drinking fountains at UMMC, including this one in the Verner Holmes Learning Resource Center, have been shut down to help stem the spread of COVID-19.