Cuomo says NY colleges with 100 coronavirus cases must ‘go remote’ for two weeks

Colleges in New York must switch to remote learning for two weeks if they experience an outbreak of 100 or more COVID-19 cases or equal to 5 percent of their population, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Thursday. 

“As college students return to campus, schools must be prepared for all possibilities,” Cuomo tweeted. 

As college students return to campus, schools must be prepared for all possibilities.

If a college experiences 100 COVID cases or an outbreak equal to 5% of its population (whichever is less)—that college MUST go to remote learning for 2 weeks while the situation is evaluated.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 27, 2020

Universities across the country have reopened campuses in the past few weeks, though many have closed again after experiencing outbreaks among students.

“We should anticipate clusters,” Cuomo told reporters on a conference call. “When you have large congregations of people, anticipate a cluster. Be prepared for it. Get ahead of it.”

The governor said students would be allowed to remain on campus during the remote learning phase, but colleges would have to stop in-person instruction if they hit either of the outbreak thresholds, according to Newsday. 

Cuomo also announced that New York will be deploying a testing SWAT team to the western part of the state to address a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in the region. He said the infection rate in the region was 2 percent on Tuesday, adding that it is “not good news.” 

Wednesday was the first time since May that 100 new cases were reported in western New York, according to a statement released by the governor’s office. The state also plans to open up eight temporary testing sites throughout the region on Saturday.