UNC–Chapel Hill officials respond to COVID-19 outbreak

University administrators nationwide have ordered extensive on-campus pandemic precautions, but they could not curb off-campus parties where the coronavirus spreads freely. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said on Monday it would move all classes online just one week into the semester after COVID-19 clusters popped up in dorms, a fraternity house, and other student housing. As of Monday, 130 students and five employees were ill, and administrators were making arrangements for students who wanted to leave on-campus housing to do so.

Will other colleges do the same? UNC–Chapel Hill is the first major university to abandon in-person instruction. But others have reported coronavirus transmission since school began. Oklahoma State University confirmed 23 cases of COVID-19 at a sorority house, and the University of Notre Dame said it had 58 cases, many of them linked to two off-campus parties more than a week ago.

Dig deeper: Read Laura Edghill’s report in Schooled about the effect of the pandemic on college sports.