Coronavirus: Notre Dame cancels in-person classes for two weeks

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame canceled in-person classes for the next two weeks as cases of the coronavirus continue to climb on campus.

The announcement was made in a news release by the university, which said remote instruction will be held for the next two weeks, beginning Wednesday. Notre Dame reported 89 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, and 147 confirmed cases out of 927 tests conducted since Aug. 3, WNDU reported. No one who tested positive was hospitalized, school officials said.

There were 58 confirmed cases out of 502 tests Monday, WNDU reported.

“With the advice and encouragement of Dr. Mark Fox of the St. Joseph County Health Department, we believe we can take steps short of sending students home for remote instruction, at least for the time being, while still protecting the health and safety of the campus community,” university President the Rev. John I. Jenkins said in a statement. “The virus is a formidable foe,” Jenkins said in announcing enhanced testing for students experiencing symptoms and surveillance testing for those without symptoms. “For the past week, it has been winning. Let us as the Fighting Irish join together to contain it.”

All but one of the positive tests were students. Most of the students lived off-campus,.

Notre Dame set up an extensive testing system to bring students back on campus, The Wall Street Journal reported. All of the nearly 12,000 students were tested before they returned to campus to start class on Aug. 10.

“Our contact-tracing analysis indicates that most infections are coming from off-campus gatherings,” Jenkins said. “Students infected at those gathering passed it on to others, who in turn have passed the virus on to others, resulting in the positive cases we have seen.”

The university also announced that until further notice, off-campus students should not visit campus, while students living on campus should not leave except in an emergency. Student gatherings, both on- and off-campus, are restricted to 10 people or fewer. Research laboratories, core facilities and libraries will remain open to graduate students, faculty and staff, the university said.

Varsity athletic teams subject to routine surveillance testing may continue to gather for sanctioned activities, according to established protocols, the university said. Those squads will be closely monitored.

Also Tuesday, Ithaca College in New York reversed its earlier decision and decided not to bring students back to campus, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Cox Media Group