New York University will move final exams online and cancel some indoor activities, including athletic events, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Citing a “sharp acceleration” in student infections, school officials have forbidden all “nonessential” indoor events through the new year.
“The continuous review of the data from our COVID-19 testing program has indicated a considerable acceleration in the rate of new cases in our community,” Provost Katherine Fleming wrote in an email to the school community. “It’s not a cause for alarm, but it is a cause for concern, caution, and appropriate actions.”
The school encouraged instructors to move their finals to a remote format as soon as possible.
NYU’s measures follow several other schools, including Princeton and Cornell, that have limited indoor activity due to surging coronavirus numbers and concerns over the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
An increasing number of colleges have also required vaccine booster shots for students to remain eligible for enrollment. NYU on Tuesday announced a booster deadline of Jan. 18 for all its “community members” amid the spread of the Omicron variant.