Grinnell College is telling students that they must leave the campus by March 23 in order to safeguard against the novel coronavirus. The college has also canceled all athletic events.
College Kicking Students Off Campus
Students Must Leave To Safeguard
GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) — The president of Grinnell College has told students they must leave the east-central Iowa campus by March 23 to help halt the spread of the new coronavirus disease.
Classes will continue to meet through Friday, the last day before spring break. But a Tuesday letter from President Raynard Kington said that after March 30 the college will shift to online classes for the rest of the semester.
"Because the situation regarding COVID-19 continues to change rapidly, for the good of our campus and city community, we feel compelled to move forward with plans to prevent or slow the transmission of the virus as best we can," the college said in a social media post.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered.
The college will cancel all athletic events, including practices, for the rest of the semester. All events Grinnell is hosting for off-campus groups will be canceled as well.
The college also might cancel May's commencement ceremony and other large events, Kington said in his letter.
There are no known cases of COVID-19 on the Grinnell campus. Thirteen cases have been detected in Iowa as of Tuesday evening.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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