Nearly 2,000 Students Return to Liberty University’s Campus

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Confirms that Phase 3 Relief Bill is Nearing Finish Line

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday morning that the revised Phase 3 relief package to combat the economic effect of the pandemic is much closer to what the Democrats want and will likely be finalized after review. Pelosi said that the bipartisan legislation is much closer to “meeting the needs of the American people.” She praised the House Democrats for their unity and tenacity in reaching a compromise. She said while the bill did not go as far as the Democrat’s Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act, it gets much closer to Democrat’s targets than the original Phase 3 bill. “America is facing a grave health crisis with a serious impact on our economy. I salute the strong leadership of Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats. I…

As colleges and universities across the United States tell students and faculty members to stay home after spring break, Liberty University students are returning to their campus in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Although Liberty has already moved most of its courses online, it is allowing students who wish to return to their residence halls to do so. The Evangelical Christian university’s other facilities, including academic buildings, libraries, dining halls, and gyms, will also remain open.

“While some colleges basically threw their hands up and just shut down and left the problem for somebody else to deal with, Liberty’s executive staff rolled their sleeves up,” Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty’s president, said in a press release. “I’ve been so impressed meeting with them every day; they have stepped up to the plate and made necessary changes to help the students.”

Falwell said that by keeping the residence halls open, Liberty is able to house all the international students who are unable to return home due to travel restrictions, as well as those commuter students who have nowhere else to live.

As of Mar. 24, more than 1,900 of the Liberty’s more than 14,000 residential students had returned, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, citing a Liberty spokesman. It is unclear how many more students will return by the end of this week.

The Virginia Department of Health sent an inspector for a surprise visit to Liberty’s campus after Gov. Ralph Northam signed an executive order that banned all gatherings of more than 10 people. The university was found to be in compliance with all restrictions, as gatherings in lecture halls and gyms are capped at 10 people, dining halls provide only take-out service, and the campus is closed to visitors.

Annex I, a former hotel property owned by Liberty, is being used to quarantine those who have symptoms before they can get medical attention, according to Falwell.

“I think we, in a way, are protecting the students by having them on campus together,” said Falwell during an interview with Lynchburg newspaper The News & Advance. “Ninety-nine percent of them are not at the age to be at risk and they don鈥檛 have conditions that put them at risk.”

At the time of this publication, Virginia’s health department reported nearly 400 COVID-19 cases, including 9 deaths. A majority of the cases are concentrated around Fairfax County on the southwestern outskirts of Washington. There has been no confirmed case in the independent city of Lynchburg, where Liberty University is located.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Says Stay-at-Home Order Would Be ‘Inappropriate’

Florida won’t be ordering residents to stay at home amid the CCP virus pandemic because of the way the new illness has spread in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Wednesday. The Epoch Times refers to the novel聽coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as聽the CCP virus聽because the Chinese Communist Party鈥檚 coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic. A number of states have ordered residents to stay at home unless they’re taking essential trips for things like food, medicine, or essential jobs. DeSantis is among the governors who have declined to issue such an order. “There’s certain parts of the state where you have more sporadic cases,” the governor told reporters in Orlando. “To order someone not to be able to earn…