The school announced ‘a temporary mitigation period from Aug. 30-Sept. 10’
Liberty University had given all indications that this fall would be business as usual. It “lifted building capacity restrictions as well as distancing and masking requirements,” Newsweek reported.
However the Lynchburg, Virginia school last week reversed course, saying on its website that to fight the spread of COVID most in-person classes will go online for two weeks:
As part of its ongoing monitoring of positive COVID-19 rates on campus as well as active community cases and local hospital capacity, Liberty University administration announced on Thursday that it is enacting a temporary mitigation period from Aug. 30-Sept. 10.
The university is making adjustments to campus operations during this time, which are designed to dial down opportunities for indoor contact. All residential classes will switch to an online platform and all large indoor gatherings have been suspended during this period.
The university later added a clarification that this should in no way be viewed as a “lockdown”:
While you will notice changes to SOME of our campus operations — including classes held online and no large indoor gatherings — this is NOT a campus wide lockdown. This period is simply a temporary dial back of some larger indoor activities. Students will NOT be confined to their rooms and are free to use campus facilities and dining venues as usual.
Should it be viewed as a campus “quarantine”? The school answered no, with a potentially large asterisk:
Quarantine will only occur for those students with new positive cases as well as those who have been determined to have direct exposure to individuals who have tested positive. All others are free to move about and enjoy our beautiful campus as usual. We pray that you use this freedom responsibly, especially when in confined indoor spaces.
MORE: First domino? Texas university announces it’s starting fall semester almost entirely online
IMAGE: Prostock Studio/Shutterstock
Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter
Please join the conversation about our stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, MeWe, Rumble, Gab, Minds and Gettr.