Clark University Cancels Classes After New Coronavirus Cases

Worcester MA

16 November, 2020

3:58 PM

Description

WORCESTER, MA — Clark University has canceled classes this week and plans to transition students to all-remote learning after a rise in cases at the school, President David Fithian told students in a letter Monday. The school raised its alert level after five new positive cases on campus detected recently, plus the overall rise in cases in Worcester. All classes will be canceled through Wednesday, and then will go remote beginning Thursday. "There is no evidence to suggest that the five positive test results are linked," Fithian and Provost Davis Baird wrote in a letter to students. "Nonetheless, it does raise concern. While this is not an emergency situation, it is serious." The letter also asked students to "make plans to depart campus as soon as possible." The fall semester ends on Dec. 4. Intersession classes begin again on Jan. 4, but are entirely remote, according to Clark's academic calendar. Clark has had 18 total cases within the past 30 days, but 12 of those cases have been detected since Nov. 5 alone. Worcester was adding new cases at a rate of 23 per day per 100,000 people as of Nov. 12, and had added just under 600 new cases over the past two weeks, according to state Department of Public Health data. Other local colleges have seen cases on-campus, too. Holy Cross, which switched to all-remote learning for the remainder of the fall semester, has had five cases since the beginning of November. Assumption University went into lockdown at the end of October after eight students tested positive.