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An Ivy League school said it will reopen campus this fall based on 'counterintuitive' evidence that doing so will actually lead to fewer coronavirus infections than a fully remote semester

Jul 2, 2020, 21:19 IST
Business Insider
Cornell plans to welcome students back to campus on September 2.Cornell University
  • More colleges are opting to entertain in-person classes this fall, even as the number of coronavirus cases soars.
  • Cornell University plans to welcome students back to its Ithaca, New York campus on September 2, University President Martha Pollack announced in a June 30 statement.
  • The decision, according to Pollack, was largely based on a mathematical modeling study conducted by Cornell researchers that found "counterintuitive" evidence that it is safer to reopen campus, as students would return to Ithaca even if classes were strictly online.
  • The study found that an in-person semester would result in roughly 1,254 members of the campus population (3.6%) becoming infected, with 16 members (0.0047%) needing hospitalization. It also found that an all-online semester would result in roughly 7,200 people becoming infected and 60 needing hospitalization.
  • "Residential instruction, when coupled with a robust virus screening program," Pollack wrote, "is a better option for protecting the public health of our community than a purely online semester."
  • While face masks and physical distancing in classrooms are a given, the university's plan also stated that students will be required to participate in a testing program upon returning to campus, and then throughout the semester, in addition to completing a daily online questionnaire about health symptoms.
  • Students will return home for Thanksgiving in November and then take exams online in December. The spring semester is set to start on February 9, 2021. Pollack noted that the current standing schedule and protocols are subject to change.
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