On March 10, Loyola University Maryland announced it would be closing campus.
The email from President Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J. said:
Effective tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11, we are taking the significant step of suspending face-to-face instruction on Loyola University Maryland’s campuses. Existing online courses will continue uninterrupted.
We have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Loyola. We have taken all the recommended precautions for students who may have been exposed. We want, however, to make this decision proactively and with the health of our community as our top priority.
The email continued that residence halls will close on Friday, March 13 at noon. Students are urged to return home, and those we cannot need to request permission to stay.
Starting on March 18, classes will be taught online or electronically. Face-to-face classes are set to resume on April 1.
All large scale events will be canceled until April 1, with some being rescheduled. Outdoor athletic events will continue with restrictions on the number of fans in attendance.
“This is an unprecedented decision for Loyola, but it is an unprecedented situation. I assure you that this decision was made with careful discernment and the greatest concern for our students and for all members of our community,” Linnane said.
Universities across the nation are beginning to cancel in-person classes and close campuses over concerns of the novel coronavirus. Among the ones that have are Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, and fellow Jesuit institution Fordham University.
As reported by WBAL, the University System of Maryland has urged universities to prepare to close. Towson University is among the schools listed.
Before spring break last week, Loyola sent an email to students with tips on staying healthy and to keep in mind locations where COVID-19 may be present. Upon returning to campus, if students had traveled to affected areas, they were required to inform student health services.
Fourteen Loyola students are already self-quarantining after a person who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) tested positive for coronavirus. The students were instructed to leave or remain off-campus to finish out the 14 day quarantine period.
The latest information can be found on Loyola’s coronavirus website.
