Edinboro University has announced a 10-day pause for in-person classes and activities, citing a spike in COVID-19 cases.
The announcement Friday night from interim President Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson takes effect immediately.
The 10-day pause follows consultation with the Erie County Department of Health and stems from “an abundance of caution for our students, faculty and staff,” she wrote in an email to the campus community.
Earlier Friday, Ms. Pehrsson warned a suspension was possible after 50 COVID-19 cases turned up among Edinboro students in about a week’s time. That number had climbed to 56 students — and three employees — as of midday Saturday, according to the university’s online coronavirus dashboard.
Ms. Pehrsson said Friday that contact tracing had not indicated transmission through instructional settings. About 4,300 students attend Edinboro, a state-owned university near Erie that’s part of the State System of Higher Education.The university says on its website that it has a limited number of students on campus for the spring semester
Since mid-January, reported COVID-19 cases among Edinboro students ranged from one to five per week. In-person classes and activities are expected to resume March 8.
“Together, we will get through this, but we must remain vigilant,” Ms. Pehrsson wrote in the email Friday night.
First Published: February 27, 2021, 6:15 p.m.
