Harvard Classes Moving Online Due To Coronavirus

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) Harvard University is telling students to move out of their dorms by Sunday at 5 p.m. due to the spread of coronavirus. The school plans to move classes online starting March 23.

“The goal of these changes is to minimize the need to gather in large groups and spend prolonged time in close proximity with each other in spaces such as classrooms, dining halls, and residential buildings,” Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said in a message to students.

Students were set to begin their spring break on Saturday; now they’re being told not to come back.

Harvard’s campus will remain open with “appropriate measures to protect the health of the community.”

“To our students, especially those of you graduating this year, I know that this is not how you expected your time at Harvard to end,” Bacow wrote. “We are doing this not just to protect you but also to protect other members of or community who may be more vulnerable to this disease than you are.”

Harvard said it is “still working on the details” concerning possible room and board refunds for the remainder of the semester.

Amherst College announced on Monday that it would be holding all classes online after spring break, citing concerns about how many students travel during their time off. Other area colleges have canceled study abroad programs, added hand sanitizing stations around campus and asked students to report any travel plans.

Forty-one people have tested positive for coronavirus in Massachusetts.