SUNY Campuses Close Due To COVID-19

COVID-19 cases are steadily on the rise throughout the nation and throughout the Capital Region. The University of Albany is taking steps to curtail the spread throughout its campus. Because of the surge, the university has decided to put a “pause” on all in-person learning.

This morning Albany County Executive, Dan McCoy, gave an update on current COVID-19 cases in Albany County. He said that there were 68 new cases of COVID just overnight. Mr. McCoy said that although most COVID-19 cases can be traced back to their source, 29 of those infected have no idea how they became infected.

School officials at the University of Albany are taking the uptick in cases very seriously. Jordan Carleo-Evangelist, a spokesman for the University, says that the school has seen an increase in cases. The university has been tracking COVID-19 cases throughout the semester and has confirmed the increase. The university currently has an infection rate of 3.3%.

Mr. Carleo-Evangelist said, “We don’t have any evidence that the spikes that we’re seeing now are linked to large scale parties. The Capital Region more generally, as you probably are aware, has seen a surge in cases in the community spread over the last two or three weeks.”

Because of the increase in COVID cases, the university has decided to go virtual for the rest of the fall semester. The fall semester ends on November 24.

Students who reside on campus will be permitted to remain in their dorm rooms, but they are asked to curtail movement as much as possible.

When we hear about the rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the country, it is not surprising to see the University of Albany making the decision to take their classes to all virtual learning.