Increase in delta variant cases forces Stanislaus State to change fall reopening plan
All in-person instruction at California State University, Stanislaus, has been delayed until Oct. 1 because of a rise in COVID-19 cases stemming from the delta variant, President Ellen Junn announced Saturday.
“The health, safety and trust of our faculty, staff and students is of utmost importance to us,” Junn said in a release.
Classes will still begin on Aug. 23, but in-person or hybrid options will be moved fully online until the start of October, Junn said. Some limited exemptions may be made for certain classes.
Young people are increasingly affected by COVID-19 as the highly infectious delta variant spreads in Stanislaus County and elsewhere. As of Aug. 6, county residents age 44 and under accounted for 70% of new cases since a spike in July.
Stanislaus State has been primarily online since March 2020, completing the entire previous academic year with virtual instruction.
California State University’s 23-school system already mandated its students, faculty and staff be vaccinated to return this semester, and face masks are required on campus.
Junn said Stanislaus State’s “cautionary move” is supported by the CSU chancellor’s office as well as public health agencies for Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.
There have been multiple recent COVID-19 cases reported on campus linked to different transmission sources, Junn said.
“Given these incidents, and our desire to have our testing program in place, our campus leadership has determined these actions to be in the best interest of the health and safety of the campus community,” Junn said.
Students who expected to live in on-campus housing may still move in next week if they are vaccinated or provide both documentation for an exemption and ongoing COVID-19 test results.
Anyone who wishes to make changes to their on-campus move-in can contact the Housing and Residential Life Office at 209-667-3675 or housing@csustan.edu by Aug. 18.
Open office hours about the change in instruction will be held via Zoom with human resources and the Division of Academic Affairs.
Human resources office hours are scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Aug. 16. Academic affairs hours have not been determined.
The Infectious Disease Response Team will work with student, staff and faculty leadership to monitor the situation. Any updates will be sent through email and posted on the school website as information changes or becomes available.
