Updated Sunday, March 15 at 2:25 p.m. with information about Gregory Fenves’ test results.

AUSTIN — University of Texas at Austin President Gregory Fenves has tested negative for COVID-19, the disease from the novel coronavirus, according to a Sunday email from UT Health Austin’s chief clinical officer.

But as a result of close contact with two sick family members, Fenves may still have been infectious while at UT last week, Chief Clinical Officer Amy E. Young said. Fenves will continue to self-isolate for the next 14 days, and he has compiled a list of people he was in close contact with, she said. UT is in the process of contacting those people.

“Because of President Fenves’ extensive contact with those in his family who have tested positive and the fact that he had demonstrated symptoms, there remains a possibility he may have been infectious prior to his COVID-19 testing,” she said. “Therefore, public health authorities are recommending continued self-isolation for those who were in close contact. Those with casual or distant contact are considered low risk and should self-monitor."

Fenves announced on Friday that his wife, Carmel, had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. A second person in their family, who works at the university, is also presumed to have COVID-19 and the three of them were self-isolating, Fenves told the UT community in a Friday email.

The announcement on Friday came after two other cases were reported in Austin early that morning and after the university announced earlier in the week that it would extend its spring break by a week and move some classes online after the break.

The university canceled operations scheduled for Friday after receiving the news of Carmel Fenves’ positive test at 5:30 a.m., Gregory Fenves said. After a trip with her husband to New York for several events with alumni and students last week, Carmel Fenves began exhibiting “mild flu-like symptoms,” Fenves said. She was tested for COVID-19 after testing negative for the flu yesterday.

Her results came several hours after local health officials had announced Austin’s first two cases overnight. City officials said early Friday morning that the two other cases, a woman in her 30s isolating herself at home and a man in his 60s who is hospitalized, do not appear to be caused by community spread, in which the source of the virus is unknown.

City officials said they believe the woman’s case is linked to the Houston area and that the man was also infected outside of Austin, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

After the city’s announcement, UT initially said operations would continue as scheduled in a 3:50 a.m. tweet, according to The Daily Texan, UT’s student newspaper. But UT later canceled classes and operations for everyone except for essential personnel at 6:38 a.m., telling the public to “disregard earlier messaging" on Twitter.

“We took this action because the first case of COVID-19 (coronavirus) within our UT community was confirmed this morning,” Fenves said in his email sent Friday afternoon. “If you have had close contact with me or my family members or another person with COVID-19 and you are not exhibiting symptoms, we strongly recommend that you self-isolate starting today. You should continue to do so until it has been 14 days since your last contact."

Fenves had attended events across the UT campus throughout the week, according to his Twitter. On Thursday, he spoke to members of the university and local media about UT’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

He urged people who develop COVID-19 symptoms, including a fever, cough and shortness of breath, to contact their primary care physician or University Health Services if they are UT students and to call 911 or seek emergency services if the symptoms become severe.

UT announced Wednesday it would extend its spring break by one week until March 30 in response to the novel coronavirus spread. The university said it would remain open and the extra time would allow faculty and staff to prepare the campus for social distancing.

Public health officials have urged social distancing, the practice of individuals avoiding group settings and mass gatherings, maintaining a safe distance from others and being hygienic, to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

When students return from campus, Fenves said in his Wednesday announcement, the university would move many lectures online and would reconfigure classrooms and develop alternatives for courses that require in-person instruction. Practices around campus facilities, such as dining halls, would also be changed to avoid personal contact. The university’s athletics department, museums and centers have also canceled, postponed or altered their events.

“We had been anticipating that someone in Austin or at UT would test positive for COVID-19 in the coming days or weeks and, as you know, we will be making modifications for the rest of the semester,” Fenves said in his Friday email. “I will be updating you on the changes that we will continue to make. I also suggest you check our website frequently to stay informed.”

On Friday, UT’s website said the university was also suspending campus visits and in-person events for admissions, issuing a worldwide recall of all university-sponsored travelers and canceling all study-abroad programs through Aug. 18 among many other measures.

Carmel Fenves, 66, is a textile artist and first-generation graduate from the University of California at Davis, according to UT. She has been an active member of the UT community, often sharing her story with UT’s first-generation students.