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The day after Cornell University went on “red alert” after more than 900 students tested positive for COVID-19 in a possible outbreak of the omicron variant, George Washington University also took measures to protect its students and staff after counting “a significant increase in positive COVID-19 cases among members of our university community.”
Effective immediately, all in-person social gatherings and events are canceled, and final exams scheduled for Friday, Dec. 17 and through the end of the semester will be held online, university officials wrote in a statement posted on Wednesday afternoon.
The health advisory added that faculty have the option to begin offering virtual exams before Friday.
University officials also “strongly recommend” that on-campus dining be limited to dining areas only.
The statement was short on details, and said that students, faculty and staff will receive more information soon. And while it didn’t say that the students had tested positive for the omicron variant, it included a CDC warning that the omicron variant is spreading more rapidly compared with other variants.
Some 98% of the George Washington community is vaccinated, according to the GW COVID-19 dashboard, which counted 433 positive cases of COVID-19 as of Dec. 13.
On Tuesday, Cornell partially shut down its Ithaca campus and moved into “red alert level” due to a “rapid spread” of COVID-19 cases among the student body. Its COVID dashboard reported 903 students tested positive between December 7-13, with school officials telling CNN that a “very high percentage” of them are omicron variant cases in fully vaccinated people. Some 97% of Cornell’s population is fully vaccinated, according to the university’s COVID dashboard.
Cornell also canceled in-person events and activities, including December graduation ceremonies, and moved final exams online through the end of the semester.
