Howard University

Howard University Pushes Back Spring Semester Due to COVID-19

NBC Universal, Inc.

Howard University extended its winter break as the coronavirus surges. News4’s Justin Finch reports.

Howard University will push back the start of classes for the spring semester as Washington, D.C., grapples with a spike in COVID-19 cases.

In-person classes are now slated to resume Tuesday, Jan. 18, instead of Jan. 3, Howard University said. The shift applies to graduate and undergraduate courses.

Howard said its positivity rate — the proportion of COVID-19 tests that show infection — has climbed to 19%, the highest level since the pandemic began.

Students who live in campus housing can’t return until Friday, Jan. 14.

The university says it will also require returning students to submit a negative PCR test for the virus taken within four days of their arrival back on campus.

All faculty, staff and students will be required to get a booster shot by Jan. 31 or within 30 days of becoming eligible for one, with few exceptions.

The number of COVID-19 diagnoses has spiked more than ninefold in D.C. over the past two weeks, according to NBC News.

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