In the recent wake of COVID outbreaks, Cornell University has gone remote.
The Omicron variant has been detected on campus and forced school officials to put the school on ‘red alert.’
The University recently revealed there were 903 cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated students on campus between December 7-13, with a ‘very high percentage’ of them Omicron variant cases.
Though the university has kept COVID cases low in the past months, the university is seeing a rise in positive cases for fully vaccinated students. 97% of positive cases are within people that are fully vaccinated.
Students must take classes and finish finals online for the rest of the semester. All sporting events have been canceled.
272 cases came back positive Monday while another two hundred came back positive Sunday. The Vice President of University Relations, Joel Malina, released a statement saying, “Virtually every case of the Omicron variant to date has been found in fully vaccinated students, a portion of whom had also received a booster shot.”
School officials are unaware if Omicron is completely to blame for the rise in numbers but are taking quick action to prevent further spread.
In a university letter, Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack said, “While there is still much that is not known about the Omicron variant, it appears to be significantly more transmissible than Delta and other variants.”
When the omicron variant was detected in South Africa, researchers suggested the variant spread quicker but was less severe compared to other variants.
She continued, “There is some evidence (though far from certain) that it generally causes milder cases, particularly among vaccinated individuals. However, when you have high transmissibility, you’re going to have very high numbers of cases, and so even with lower rates of serious illness, outbreaks must be taken seriously.”
The school has been placed on ‘red alert’ and has asked students to remain in their dorms unless leaving for winter break. No visitors are allowed, and the December graduation and ceremony have been canceled.
Pollack finishes, “It is obviously extremely dispiriting to have to take these steps. However, since the start of the pandemic, our commitment has been to follow the science and do all we can to protect the health of our faculty, staff, and students.”
