Coronavirus: Long Island University Moves To Online Classes

BROOKVILLE, NY — Long Island University is moving to all online instruction for two weeks amid rising concerns over the new coronavirus. Beginning Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27, the university said it will use only online instruction at all locations.

"University officials are in constant communication with all appropriate health authorities, and will continue to follow their recommendations to take every necessary precaution for the safety of our community," the message says.

Kimberly Cline, the university's president, wrote in a letter a task force will meet twice daily to evaluate the status of the outbreak, which the World Health Organization deemed a "pandemic" Wednesday. The university is "taking all necessary steps to minimize exposure," Cline said. She noted the move to online instruction was "out of an abundance of caution."

The LIU Post campus has 10,707 undergraduate students.

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See the announcement from Long Island University.

Multiple other colleges across Long Island have also closed, or are considering doing so, as the number of confirmed cases topped 1,000 in the United States, with 29 deaths. In New York, 212 people tested positive for coronavirus as of noon Wednesday.

Adelphi University was the latest college to announce closures due to the coronavirus. Hofstra University announced on Monday that it was canceling classes for a week. Nassau Community College canceled classes Wednesday and Molloy College also announced it was canceling classes until March 28 out of caution.

Nassau County continues to have the highest number of coronavirus cases, now reaching 28. One of those patients is in serious condition, county officials said Wednesday. Suffolk County saw its cases jump overnight, going from one to six, bringing the total on Long Island to 31. There are 232 people in mandatory or precautionary quarantine in Nassau and eight in mandatory quarantine in Suffolk.

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