NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Some colleges in New York have announced that they have canceled classes amid coronavirus concerns.
According to a statement from Fordham University, they will be suspending all face-to-face classes beginning Monday afternoon on all New York campuses at least through March 29.
"We are making this decision because we want to reduce potential pathways for community spread of COVID-19 within our community."
Beginning on March 11, faculty will teach their classes online or electronically.
Columbia University announced they will be be canceling two days of classes this week after a person at the school is under quarantine from coronavirus exposure, an email sent Sunday by the university's president, Lee Bollinger.
Beginning on Wednesday until the start of the school's Spring Break on Friday, Bollinger said classes will be taught remotely.
"I am writing this evening to notify everyone that, because a member of our community has been quarantined as a result of exposure to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have decided to suspend classes on Monday and Tuesday," Bollinger said.Bollinger adds that the person under quarantine has not yet been diagnosed with the deadly virus. He did not say whether the person was a student or staff member."This action is intended to prevent the virus from spreading," Bollinger said.
Students at Barnard College, one of Columbia's four undergraduate colleges also announced that it would be closing down on Monday and Tuesday.
According to a post on Barnard's website, the college's president, Sian Leah Beilock, characterized the person's exposure as an isolated case.
For many students, the cancellations occur at the same time as midterm examinations, which Ms. Beilock said she had asked to be suspended or given in a take-home format.
Late Sunday night, Hofstra University announced that all campus classes have been canceled for the week after a student who attended an event with someone infected with the coronavirus then reported developing flu-like symptoms.Starting Monday classes would be canceled according to a statement from the university.
"On Sunday, March 8, a student contacted the Student Health and Counseling Center reporting flu-like symptoms, after attending a conference where an attendee has tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the statement said.
"The student is being tested, and is in isolation. In keeping with current state Department of Health directives, six individuals who have been in close contact with this student have also been asked to self-isolate pending the student's test results."
Undergraduate classes at the Beren and Wilf campuses of Ysehiva University have been canceled through the week and will resume March 16.
Graduate classes will resume remotely on Wednesday, March 11 in Azrieli, Katz, Revel, RIETS, Syms, and Wurzweiler.
The Shoreham-Wading River Central School District in Suffolk County has canceled classes on Monday due to coronavirus concerns after the spouse of an employee tested positive, according to the a robocall from district superintendent Gerard W. Poole."This morning I was informed that a staff member's spouse has been diagnosed with the coronavirus," Poole said in the call. "The staff member has been sent home. As a result, we will be closing all buildings today, March 9."Poole adds, "students that are on the bus at the high school or the middle school, they will remain on the buses and those students will be sent back home through the bus company," he added, promising an update with more information later in the day.
After a middle school teacher tested positive for coronavirus, the Scarsdale Public School District in Westchester on Sunday decided to cancel classes until March 18.
The Westchester Day School will be closed until March 17 after one of its students tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Village of Mamaroneck.
Schools in Somers, New York will be closed through Monday, March 9 for thorough cleaning out due to the coronavirus.
Keio Academy of New York will be closed for the remainder of the school year, according to their school's website, adding that classes will be continued online.
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