Area colleges and universities that offered in-person instruction this semester decided in August that they would flip to remote-only learning after the traditional Thanksgiving break to help curb spread of the coronavirus.
Aside from some early semester flare-ups that college administrators attributed to off-campus student parties, most colleges and universities have been able to keep large Covid-19 outbreaks at bay since classes began. But with less than two weeks until the break, Covid-19 numbers are escalating again, and two campuses already have announced they're cutting short in-person classes.
Forty percent of the 1,100 Covid-19 cases at Western New York colleges and universities were reported over the past 17 days.
Niagara University officials decided Tuesday to send students home early and go remote-only for the rest of the semester, after 99 students tested positive from Oct. 27 through Monday.
Hilbert College President Michael Brophy also announced Wednesday that the Hamburg campus will suspend in-person instruction at 5 p.m. on Friday, 10 days earlier than planned.
Hilbert has had just seven students test positive for Covid-19 all semester, but Brophy made the decision “because of the position Western New York is in right now containing the spread,” said Hilbert spokesman Matt Heidt.
The test positivity rate for Erie County shot above 7% on Monday, and growing numbers of people are being hospitalized with Covid-19 infections.
The University at Buffalo, Canisius College, SUNY Fredonia, Alfred State and Buffalo State all had relatively low numbers of students testing positive in early to mid-October and have seen spikes in recent weeks.
Since Saturday, 33 UB students have tested positive. Over the past two weeks, UB has had 148 confirmed positive cases, although 72 of those cases were employees working remotely and students who live off campus and take classes remotely.
UB officials said they are closely monitoring the increase of Covid-19 cases on the three campuses.
“The university will remain vigilant in its efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus through rigorous on-campus testing, and by reinforcing the need for all students, faculty and staff to follow UB’s health and safety guidelines at all times, including the required use of face coverings indoors and outdoors on UB campuses, as well as the need to maintain physical distancing,” John DellaContrada, vice president for university communications, said in an email Wednesday.
DellaContrada said the university has done 6,917 tests within the past two weeks as part of a requirement that State University of New York campuses test all students prior to the Thanksgiving break.
At Canisius, 20 students have tested positive since Saturday and 71 students are in quarantine, according to a state website that tracks Covid-19 cases on campuses.
Canisius spokeswoman Eileen Herbert said the college has reduced capacity in its fitness center by half and limited dining hall seating to no more than four students per table, among other new precautions.
Niagara shut down in-person instruction on Tuesday after 62 students over three days tested positive. An additional 174 students were quarantined. Niagara has had 120 students test positive since the start of the semester, according to the state tracker.
Buffalo State College also reported 10 new Covid-19 cases since Saturday, with 80 students now in quarantine, while Fredonia had five new cases and 67 students in quarantine and Alfred State had 10 new cases and 182 students in quarantine.
For the fall semester, most area colleges and universities have been doing a blend of in-person and remote instruction, with some institutions offering more in-class options than others.
