Just one week into opening with in-person classes, the University of North Carolina (UNC) is putting all classes back online following a spike in their COVID-19 positivity rate according to The Daily Tar Heel.
All undergraduate students will reportedly begin remote learning starting Wednesday. Graduate, professional and health affairs schools will reportedly continue to teach courses as they are now or as directed by individual schools. Students will reportedly be able to cancel housing contracts with Carolina Housing at no penalty. International students, student athletes and students who relied on campus housing for internet access will be given the option to stay on campus, according to The Daily Tar Heel.
BREAKING: One week into the semester, UNC-Chapel Hill announces that it is transitioning all undergraduate classes to fully online instruction, effective Wednesday.
Story to come. Check this thread soon.
— The Daily Tar Heel (@dailytarheel) August 17, 2020
UNC’s COVID-19 positivity rate jumped from 2.8% to 13.6% within the first week of opening, per the same report. As of Monday, UNC reportedly has 177 students in isolation and 349 students in quarantine both on and off campus. (RELATED: Poll: Two-Thirds Of College Students Willing To Return To Campus In The Fall Even Without Coronavirus Vaccine)
The university has confirmed four “clusters” of coronavirus found at three on-campus residential halls and an off-campus fraternity house since Friday, per the report.
UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Provost Bob Blouin said in an email to students that things don’t appear to be too serious, according to The Daily Tar Heel.
“We have been fortunate that most students who have tested positive have demonstrated mild symptoms,” they wrote.
UNC System President Peter Hans reportedly chimed in on the email.
“There are no easy answers as the nation navigates through the pandemic,” Hans wrote, per The Daily Tar Heel. “At this point we haven’t received any information that would lead to similar modifications at any of our other universities.”
An earlier report shows the university was at 87.1% capacity for available isolation rooms as of Friday, which are intended for those confirmed to be COVID-19 positive.