Due to the increasing amount of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, WCU is extending its official spring break until Monday, March 23.
Following the spring break extension, classes will resume online or via other distance learning methods until further notice from the UNC System. Chancellor Kelly Brown in an email message to the university said:
“We have been asked to take certain steps, which are consistent with public health and medical guidelines, designed to limit and mitigate the transmission of and exposure to the coronavirus illness (COVID-19). Foremost among those steps are limiting travel outside of North Carolina, minimizing large gatherings of people, and moving to online or alternative means of delivering instruction, wherever possible.”
The University will remain open and provide services to students and the community. Chancellor Brown added that “This is a serious situation and we are treating as such; however, I encourage all members of Western Carolina University community to remain calm.”
Since all UNC institutions are restricted from holding gatherings of 100 or more people, the chancellor’s installation, scheduled for March 27, is postponed and the Open House, scheduled for March 21, is canceled. For more information about the guidelines presented by the UNC System, click here.
According to News & Observer, North Carolina has a limited amount of test kits to test for COVID-19 and as of now there are eight people infected with the virus. In the U.S., the number of infected people and death are rapidly growing.
Relevant links:
CDC Coronavirus Disease Resource Center
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (global map)
