UArizona shifting more classes to in-person as coronavirus cases decline

Oct 5, 2020, 4:00 PM | Updated: 9:41 pm

(Facebook Photo/The University of Arizona)

KTAR.com

PHOENIX – The University of Arizona announced Monday it plans to introduce more in-person classes starting next week if coronavirus cases continue to decline.

“We are planning to add in-person instruction for classes of 30 or fewer students if — if, very importantly — our public health metrics continue the positive trend we’ve seen recently,” UArizona President Robert Robbins said during a weekly briefing.

The classes that will be offered in-person will be ones that were designated as in-person or flex in-person during the registration period. The change would bring around 2,500 more students to campus each week.

The university has been holding the majority of course online since the start of the semester. The only classes that have been on campus are essential ones, such as research labs, medical courses, and fine arts and performing arts studios.

Approximately 6,200 student have attended essential classes in this format.

On Friday, the university reported 11 new coronavirus cases. Since Aug. 4, UArizona has reported a total of 2,367 positive cases.

The school’s seven-day average of positive results has steadily declined to 20 cases after peaking on Sept. 16 at 161 cases.

Robbins said that as of Friday evening, the university had 68 students who live in the dorms isolating in on-campus housing while an additional 58 students who live in the dorms were in isolation off campus.

Follow @Kaci_Demarest