Coronavirus News: SUNY's spring semester plan includes mandatory testing for all students

System-wide plan will allow campuses to safely return to in-person instruction for the spring

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Monday, November 9, 2020
SUNY announces spring semester plan amid COVID pandemic
New York's public universities released guidance what students need to do to prepare for the spring semester amid the COVID pandemic.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York's public universities released guidance what students need to do to prepare for the spring semester amid the COVID pandemic.

SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras outlined on Sunday, a system-wide plan that will allow campuses to safely return to in-person instruction for the spring.

Students will need to quarantine at home for a week before school starts and get tested for coronavirus at home or on campus.

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Stacey Sager reports on the new travel restrictions that took effect in New York Wednesday that allow visitors from out of state to test out of the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

The spring semester will start 10 days later than usual on February 1, and there will be no spring break.

In addition, mask-wearing will be mandatory at all times even with social distancing.

"We've demonstrated this past fall that by implementing an aggressive strategy to manage COVID, students can safely return to campus," Malatras said.

Students who present documentation of a positive COVID test within the last three months are exempt from the return test.

Several SUNY schools had to pause in-person learning this fall after on-campus outbreaks.

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SUNY Oneonta is sending all students home for the rest of the fall semester after hundreds of coronavirus cases have been reported so far this school year.

According to the university, SUNY schools have the capacity to process approximately 200,000 COVID-19 tests per week, thanks in large part to the FDA-approved saliva test developed by SUNY Upstate Medical University.

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