Howard University shifting to virtual classes amid COVID-19 outbreak

Howard University announced it will shift some classes online due to the rise of COVID-19 cases on campus, joining other Washington, D.C.-based universities that have tightened restrictions amid the outbreaks.

In a statement on Wednesday, HU officials said the COVID-19 positivity rate at the school has increased from 2 percent to 5 percent over the past week, which they attributed to the spread of the BA.2 omicron subvariant, now the dominant strain in the U.S.

“While recent studies show that BA.2 does not cause more severe illness than the initial omicron variant, data also show that BA.2 is even more transmissible. As we noted previously, given the increased number of cases, we also have a concurrent increase in the number of residential students assigned to quarantine,” school officials said. “The current quarantine process and protocols will remain in effect.” 

HU officials said undergraduate courses will be held online for the final week of classes, noting that students will take their final exams online as well. Graduate and professional students and fine arts students will still continue to attend classes in person. 

Students who have laboratory courses will also complete their final weeks of labs, though they will follow a strict mask mandate and social distancing requirements, the school said. 

Howard will also re-implement a campus-wide mask mandate through the end of the spring semester, and is encouraging students and faculty to get vaccinated against the virus.

“As we prepare for the end of the semester and the Commencement celebration, as well as oath and award ceremonies in the schools and colleges, we want to make sure that we are all working collaboratively to take effective steps to assure that we can provide a Commencement celebration with friends and families that our graduates would fondly remember,” the school said. 

The historically black university follows other D.C. universities that have tightened COVID protocols amid the rising case counts. George Washington University, American University and Georgetown University both reinstated indoor mask mandates earlier this week.