Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge officials announced Friday spring semester classes will start online amid spreading COVID-19 cases fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Courses will be taught virtually for the first two weeks, between Jan. 22 and Feb. 6, CSUF President Fram Virjee said in a letter to the campus community. University facilities, including offices, the library and student centers, will remain open.
“Temporarily delaying face-to-face instruction was not what we hoped for, but we believe that this decision allows us to prioritize health and safety without sacrificing academic quality and access,” Virjee said.
Late Friday afternoon, CSUN President Erika Beck said classes will be held online for three weeks from Jan. 24 to Feb. 11, with a return to in-person instruction on Valentines Day.
“This temporary measure will allow the January case spike to subside before beginning in-person instruction,” she said, “which will help to minimize the spread of COVID-19 across our campus community, and ensure our faculty and staff are able to support a quality educational experience for our students.”
Upon return to the CSUF campus, staff members and students will be required to be fully vaccinated, including getting the booster shot if eligible. Proof needs to be provided before Feb. 7, Virjee said.
Now, 12 of the 23 Cal State University campuses have chosen remote learning to start the year as cases of COVID-19 surge locally and beyond. Several UC campuses and local community colleges have taken similar steps.
UCI officials have extended the virtual learning start to the winter quarter there until at least Jan. 28. Initially the administration planned two weeks of remote learning when students returned Jan. 3, but on Thursday, Jan. 6, announced that has been extended.
“In our testing just since this past Sunday we are finding a ‘testing positivity’ rate over 13 percent. Even with our consistent guidance on best practices during the holidays, more than one out of 10 members of our community who test, are testing positive for COVID-19,” Chancellor Howard Gillman said in a letter to the school community. “Just as importantly, Orange County is currently a COVID-19 hot spot, with a test positivity rate of over 25%. That is simply too much disease transmission both on campus and in the community to assume safe in-person interactions.”
Staff Writer Pierce Singgih contributed to this report.
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