In response to the nationwide anthrax scare, the Bakersfield College mailroom is taking some precautions, in response, said mailroom coordinator Louise Farris. In addition to posting safety steps on the wall, the mailroom employees are wearing rubber gloves.
“We’re on alert,” she said. “Everyone here knows what to do if something happens.”
The workers have been wearing gloves, which were provided by the Health Center, for more than a week, although it is just a precautionary move, Farris said.
The mail is thoroughly checked by the local postmaster before it reaches Bakersfield College, Farris said.
The anthrax scare has created mixed feelings in the Bakersfield College campus.
Karina Perez, who works in the BC mailroom, said she isn’t concerned about anthrax coming to BC.
“It’s scary, but I don’t really see it coming here because we’re not really a target,” she said. “We’re not a popular city or anything like that.”
But some employees who work on the BC campus are concerned about getting their mail.
Elaine Eddington, who works at Job Placement Services, said she is glad about the precautions in the mailroom.
“We do pick up mail from the mailroom. Everybody is really glad that there is more protection,” she said. “It’s a shame that we have to go through something like this, but it’s something we have to go through.”
Robert Day, BC bookstore director, said he is not too concerned about anthrax in the bookstore.
“It’s really not an issue. We don’t get much small mail,” he said. “A lot of people have been told that if they see a box that looks suspicious to set it off to the side and we’ll deal with it.”
People across the country are dealing with the anthrax scare. At least three postal workers, two in Washington and one in New Jersey, have been hospitalized because of anthrax inhalation, according to an Associated Press story. That brings the total number of inhalation cases to nine, including seven postal workers, the Associated Press reported. Other cases of anthrax have been suspected in Washington, Florida and New Jersey.