The Chinese virus may keep some American colleges and universities closed until 2021. Institutions such as Boston University have already told students that campus may remain closed through the upcoming fall semester.

According to a report by Boston Herald, the Chinese virus may keep Boston University’s campus closed through the rest of the calendar year. In a Chinese virus recovery plan published by the university, Boston University President Robert A. Brown announced that the university may not reopen until January 2021.

“The Recovery Plan recognizes the possibility that the beginning of the fall term may have to be delayed and that a January reopening may be necessary,” the university wrote in a press release. “In which case, summer 2021 academics would replace those now planned for fall 2020.”

Boston University, like many other institutions, has shifted its spring and summer course offerings online in response to the Chinese virus pandemic. Now, President Brown is working to determine whether or not students will return to campus this fall.

“We’ve made the big decisions relating to the spring and summer,” Brown told students. “We are now in a position to focus on the fall and the best and safest way in which to bring the residential teaching and research community back onto campus when time and public health considerations permit.”

“For reasons of public health, the economy, or any number of other factors, this is not going to be as simple as flipping a switch and getting back to business as usual. This is going to take time, and it will take time to plan. Starting that planning now is the right thing to do, and it is a necessity,” Brown added.

Some analysts predict that some colleges and universities will be forced to shut down permanently in response to financial hardships they encounter as a result of the pandemic. Several institutions have shut down permanently in the past several years over economic hardships. Breitbart News reported in 2018 that two colleges in Portland were forced to shut down due to low enrollment.