On Sunday, Feb. 14, Fordham University announced it would suspend all in-person classes and activities at the Rose Hill campus for a two week period. 

In an email to the Fordham community, Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, said the rise in positive cases of COVID-19 on the Rose Hill campus necessitated these measures. As of Sunday, the university’s COVID-19 testing results summary reported 131 active cases of COVID-19 at Rose Hill. New York State mandates that in-person activities be suspended on a university campus if it reports more than 100 active cases in a two-week period. 

In-person classes at Rose Hill will move online for two weeks effective immediately, according to McShane. Students will also not be permitted to take in-person courses at another campus during this period. All in-person programming, indoor dining, athletic completions and practices are also temporarily suspended. The Ram Fit Center and all other indoor athletic facilities are temporarily closed and Ram Van services between Rose Hill and other campuses are suspended. 

Residence halls will remain open, and students living on-campus are not required to return home during this period, wrote McShane. Residents are still permitted to leave their residence halls, and outdoor exercise, walking and other socially-distanced activity are permitted. 

All university staff at Rose Hill should take direction from their managers regarding whether or not to report to work in person, wrote McShane. 

Walsh Library and the McGinley Center will remain open during this period with “strictly enforced mask usage and social distancing,” according to McShane. 

These measures do not apply to the Lincoln Center campus, which remains well below 100 active cases, according to McShane. As of Sunday, the campus reported only 12 cases in the last two weeks. McShane instructed that “members of the Lincoln Center campus community should not visit those on the Rose Hill campus and vice versa.” 

“We take these measures reluctantly, but we believe pausing activities at Rose Hill offers us our best chance to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and to resume a more normal campus routine for the rest of the spring semester,” wrote McShane.

McShane asked that students “faithfully observe COVID-19 precautions at all times, on and off-campus.” Students should wear masks in all public spaces, observe social distancing of at least six feet and avoid crowded indoor spaces, wrote McShane. 

“I understand this is another unwelcome development in a long and difficult year, but your wholehearted cooperation and observance of appropriate precautions is critically important in ensuring that we limit the spread of the virus and give our students the best opportunity for a positive on-campus experience for the remainder of the spring semester,” wrote McShane.