LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Indiana University will suspend all classroom teaching at all IU campuses for two weeks after spring break.
The university said in a news release Tuesday that the "rapidly changing situation" with COVID-19 led to the move.
Spring break runs from March 15-22, and the two weeks following that will be all remote learning.
In a letter to the IU community Tuesday, President Michael A. McRobbie said "the health and safety of our IU community is our primary concern in this fluid situation, and we are taking decisions as warranted following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), along with state and county health departments."
No cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed on any IU campus, though two students have "self-reported presumptively positive tests for COVID-19 after being in a CDC-designated Level 3 country while studying abroad." Those students are back in the United state and recovering at home. Neither has returned to campus, McRobbie said.
The university said students are encouraged to go home during the weeks off.
Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana, where many students are commuters, will also teach all classes remotely by "various distance-learning modalities," according to a statement released Tuesday evening following IU's announcement. The university is encouraging students to stay in their homes away from campus while completing classes remotely unless "they are prevented from returning home because of travel restrictions or they do not have access to the technology at home, such as reliable internet access, to complete their classes remotely," according to Tuesday's statement.
IUS officials say campus will remain open to faculty, staff and students including library services, lodging and dining services, while public meetings scheduled on campus have been canceled through April 5.
"IU's first priority is to protect all members of the IU community," IU Southeast's Chancellor, Dr. Ray Wallace, said in the statement Tuesday. "The measures announced today are based on the best information available to us and they follow the guidance and advice of federal health officials, state and local health and hospital officials and IU's own internal resources."
IUS expects to release additional information in the coming days.
McRobbie said he plans to resume face-to-face teaching April 6, though that could change.
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