Dalhousie University, King’s to begin winter semester online as COVID-19 spreads in N.S.
Global News
A memo from the schools says there were 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Dalhousie community in the last week, including 23 in residence.
Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College in Halifax will begin its winter term online as the province continues to report record-breaking COVID-19 numbers.
“Despite a remarkably successful and safe fall term, the COVID-19 situation has changed significantly over the past two weeks,” said a memo signed by Frank Harvey, provost and vice-president academic at Dalhousie, and Bill Lahey, president of King’s, on Friday.
The memo said there have been 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Dalhousie community in the last week, including 23 in residence.
“Although the immunity from a two-dose vaccination appears to be holding strong against the Omicron variant in preventing serious illness, out of an abundance of caution and given the current epidemiology Dalhousie and the University of King’s College are modifying our approach to the start of the winter term,” it said.
The winter term is scheduled to begin on time, but almost all course delivery will move online for the first two weeks of January. Exceptions will be made in select courses where in-person learning is needed, such as accredited programming in the school’s three health faculties. Exceptions will be communicated by the faculties, it said.
“We will continue to evaluate the situation on a daily basis, in consultation with Public Health and the provincial government, and determine whether in-person learning will be able to resume on Monday, January 17 or if online learning will need to continue,” said the memo.
“We know this situation is challenging for all involved and how important it is for both our instructors and our learners to get back into the classroom as soon as possible. However, our decisions with respect to academic delivery must continue to be driven by our collective health and safety, with full consideration of the best available Public Health guidance.”
Campus is set to reopen on Jan. 4, but faculty and staff who are able to work remotely are encouraged to do so for the first two weeks of January.
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