SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — UC San Diego on Monday night informed students that starting spring quarter, all lecture and discussion courses would be delivered remotely as the coronavirus continues to spread across the country.
The university said it would mainly involve offering conventional courses via online teaching and learning tools.
There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus on the UCSD campus, but "as local, national and global public health recommendations shift to include mitigation of transmission, (the university is) proactively taking steps that will help to protect the community."
The university also stated that going forward, and through May 10, 2020, it strongly recommends the following guidelines for gatherings on campus and university-hosted events:
- Cancellation or postponement of events or meetings that are expected to have more than 100 people. If a meeting or event can be moved to an online platform, then the meeting could still occur.
- Cancellation or postponement of non-essential visits to campus by groups of more than 15 people. This would include, for example, campus tours and other events that bring visitors to campus.
- All UC San Diego-sponsored athletic events are scheduled to continue, however, events will now be “fan-less,” meaning there should be no fans at the events. (Details about the NCAA Division II men’s regional basketball tournament scheduled for March 13 through March 16 will be determined by the appropriate conferences and the NCAA.)
- All questions can be directed to the UC San Diego Emergency Operations Center at eoc@ucsd.edu. The EOC will direct your inquiry to the appropriate unit for response.
The university also informed students that for the last week of winter quarter, courses will continue to meet in person, but instructors would no longer use attendance-based points in their grading.
San Diego County health officials Monday night confirmed the county's first presumptive positive case of coronavirus in a local resident. The case is considered a presumptive positive until test results are confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although the patient is considered the county's first coronavirus case, the illness has had a presence in the San Diego area. Last week, authorities confirmed that a person who works at an AT&T store in Chula Vista had tested positive for the illness, prompting the temporary closure of some AT&T stores in the area. That patient was not considered a San Diego County case because the person lives in Orange County.