Cambridge cancels face-to-face lectures for next year

The University of Cambridge is canceling “face-to-face lectures” and will continue using virtual learning methods until the summer of 2021, according to a university spokesperson.

“Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the University has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the prestigious university in the United Kingdom will continue providing online lectures for students, adding that “it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social distancing requirements.”

“The University is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic,” the spokesperson said, including that the university’s decision could be changed or altered based on “official advice on coronavirus.”

The move comes as some schools in the U.S. are taking similar precautionary approaches for resuming school in the fall semester.

The University of South Carolina announced Monday that the school’s fall break would be canceled due to “the public health risks associated with thousands of students and faculty returning to campus after Fall Break travels,” Bob Caslen, the university’s president, said in a statement.

In-person classes will not resume following Thanksgiving break, the statement added, saying, “our best current modeling predicts a spike in cases of COVID-19 at the beginning of December, which also will likely coincide with traditional flu season.”