Bryant University Moves Classes Online Amid Coronavirus Concerns

SMITHFIELD, RI – Bryant University is telling students to stay home after spring break as it became the latest New England school to move to online classes amid coronavirus concerns on Tuesday. The move scheduled for classes effect March 17 through March 27 with Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley saying it is "very possible that these steps will continue after the initial two-week period."

"I want to emphasize that, at present, there are no known or suspected cases of coronavirus or anyone with symptoms requiring action on the Bryant University campus," Machtley said in a letter to the school community. "Out of an abundance of caution, however, we are proactively taking the following steps to mitigate the future risk of virus on campus and ensure that all members of the Bryant community stay safe and as healthy as possible during this escalating global health crisis."

The campus will remain open, but Bryant will move to online classes effective March 17 after an in-service day on Monday for faculty and staff to test technology and assure the school is prepared for online classrooms. The school asks that students who traveled out of the country for spring break not return to campus.

The campus will remain open with residence halls and dining halls open with additional health and safety practices in place. No overnight student guests will be allowed. All extra-curricular programming will be suspended and the Chace Wellness Athletic Center will be closed.

Bryant athletics will in March adhere to all NCAA guidelines regarding coronavirus postponements or practice restrictions. University offices will remain open, but non-essential employees may be permitted to work from home with a supervisor's permission. Machtley said every effort will be made to provide flexible assignments to compensate work-study students during the initial two weeks of the online shift.

All university-related international travel is prohibited and all March events with 50 or more people will be postponed or canceled. All university-related, non-essential domestic air travel is prohibited and the school is urging caution in personal domestic travel.

Student staying on campus will be prohibited from visiting other residence halls and or townhouses. Parties will be prohibited with immediate sanctions and potential forfeiting of the ability to stay on campus.

(More on the coronavirus can be found in this fact sheet from the CDC.)

Brown University has suspended international travel amid concerns over the new coronavirus. Three students are being tested, the university said Tuesday, though no confirmed cases have been connected with the campus at this time. The three students have been put in preventive isolation pending the outcome of the test.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndromes (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available. To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

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