Carnegie Mellon University’s spring semester will begin remotely for most students due to rising cases of COVID-19. President Farnam Jahanian said in a statement Thursday the fast-spreading omicron variant prompted university officials to push an in-person return from Jan. 18 to Jan. 31.
“While there is accumulating evidence that Omicron causes less severe illness, its extreme transmissibility remains concerning,” Jahanian wrote.
Students are allowed to return to campus before in-person instruction returns, but not required. All classes and research designated by the university as “in-person only” will continue as planned, with COVID safety protocols in place.
Jahanian urged faculty to be flexible with students during the transition, and thanked campus members, saying their “diligence over the past two years has been remarkable.”
